Gloria Fuertes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gloria Fuertes García
Born	(1917-07-28)28 July 1917 Madrid, Spain
Died	27 November 1998(1998-11-27) (aged 81) Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Poet, short story writer, playwright, children book writer
Nationality	Spanish
Period	1934–1998
Literary movement	Postism
Notable works	Un globo, dos globos, tres globos Las tres reinas magas El hada acaramelada

Gloria Fuertes García (born July 28, 1917 – died November 27, 1998) was a famous Spanish poet and writer. She was especially known for her children's books. Gloria was part of a group of writers called the "50s Generation" or "Postism" after the Spanish Civil War.

She became very popular in Spain in the 1970s. This was because she appeared on children's TV shows. In her writing, Gloria often talked about important ideas. She believed in equality for everyone, peace, and protecting the environment. In 2017, which was 100 years after she was born, more people started to recognize how important she was to Spanish poetry in the 20th century. She was born and passed away in Madrid, Spain.

Her Life Story

Gloria Fuertes was born in Madrid in 1917. Her family was not rich. Her mother worked as a seamstress and a maid, and her father was a church official. Gloria went to a special school for women. There, she learned skills like shorthand, typing, and how to care for children.

She started loving writing very early, when she was just five years old. She would write and draw her own stories. However, her family didn't really support her writing. She even said her mother would scold her if she saw her with a book!

Despite this, Gloria published her first poem when she was only fourteen. It was called "Childhood, Youth, Old Age." When she was seventeen, she finished her first book of poems, Isla Ignorada, which was published later in 1950. In 1934, she started working as an accountant and secretary. For a long time, she did these jobs while also writing stories for children, plays, and more and more poetry.

Gloria always said she taught herself to write poetry. But her name is connected to two writing groups. One was called the "Generation of 50." The other was "Postism," a group of writers after the war who used humor to look at the world.

The Spanish Civil War had a big impact on Gloria. She wrote a lot about being against war and how silly some parts of civilization are. She once said, "Without the tragedy of war, I might never have written poetry."

Because of her war experiences, Gloria Fuertes's writing often uses humor and irony. She wrote about big ideas like love, sadness, death, and feeling alone. Her poems are full of interesting comparisons and fun word games. This makes her poems sound musical and easy to read, almost like someone is talking to you.

Between 1940 and 1953, Gloria worked for children's magazines. These included Pelayos, Chicos, Chicas, and Chiquitito. She also wrote for the newspaper Arriba. There, she created a comic strip called "Pigtails and Pelines," which was about a nine-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy. This comic became very popular with young readers.

Besides her children's writing, Gloria also worked on poetry for adults. In 1951, she helped start a group called "Verses in Skirts." They held poetry readings in cafes. She also wrote for adult magazines like Directions and Spanish Poetry. From 1950 to 1954, she helped create and manage a poetry magazine called Archer.

From 1955 to 1960, she studied library science and English. In 1961, she won a special scholarship to teach Spanish literature in the United States. She taught at several universities there. Later, in 1972, she received another scholarship for children's literature.

In the mid-1970s, Gloria became a big part of children's TV shows in Spain. She appeared on programs like Un Globo, Dos Globos, Tres Globos and La Cometa Blanca. These shows made her children's poetry incredibly famous. She won several awards for her TV work. From then on, Gloria was always busy. She did readings, concerts, and tributes, always staying close to children. She kept publishing poetry for both kids and adults.

Gloria Fuertes passed away on November 27, 1998. She was buried in Madrid.

Fighting for Equality

Gloria Fuertes's writing style was friendly and easy to understand. This made her different from other poets. Some experts say that it was harder for her work to become famous because she was a woman and came from a poor background. One expert, Reyes Vila-Belda, says that Gloria opened up the world of poetry to the worries of people who often weren't heard. This included women, workers, and poor people.

Gloria fought for women's rights. She believed women should have the right to read, write, work, and be poets. This was very important at a time when women were often expected to stay at home. She also questioned the usual roles for women during the Spanish dictatorship. Instead, she showed a new kind of woman.

One of her most famous works about this is Las tres reinas magas (The Three Wise Queens). It was published in 1978 and is now a classic children's book in Spain. In the story, the traditional wise men (Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar) cannot go to Bethlehem. So, their wives, Melchora, Gaspara, and Baltasara, go instead! They become the main characters, which was a big change from how women were seen after the war. In this story, the mothers, who are also wise queens, follow the star and bring gifts to baby Jesus.

Besides fighting for equality, Gloria Fuertes also worked to protect the environment. She was also a pacifist, meaning she was against war. She spoke out against wars in Vietnam and Cambodia, just as she had been against the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

Tribute

On July 28, 2016, Google celebrated her 99th birthday with a special drawing called a Google Doodle.

Her Works

Children's books

Poetry

• Canciones para niños (1956)
• Villancicos (1956)
• Cangura para todo (1968). This book received an honorable mention for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's literature.
• Don Pato y Don Pito (1970)
• Aurora, Brígida y Carlos (1970)
• La pájara pinta (1972)
• "La Oca Loca" (1977)
• El camello cojito (1978)
• El hada acaramelada (1973)
• La gata chundarata y otros cuentos (1974)
• El dragón tragón (1978)
• La momia tiene catarro (1978)
• El libro loco. De todo un poco (1981)
• El perro que no sabía ladrar (1982)
• El abecedario de don Hilario (1983)
• El burro y la escuela (1987)
• Trabalenguas para que se trabe tu lengua (1988)
• El cocinero distraído (1994)

Theatre

• La princesa que quería ser pobre (1942)
• El chinito Chin-cha-té (1955)
• Petra, un señor pregunta por ti (1970)
• Las tres reinas magas (1978)

Television

• Un globo, dos globos, tres globos
• La mansión de los Plaff
• La cometa blanca
• Big Vand
• Los pequeños niños atacan de nuevo

Adult literature

• Isla ignorada (1950)
• Antología y poemas del suburbio (1954)
• Aconsejo beber hilo (1954)
• Todo asusta Caracas (1958). This book won an award in an international poetry contest.
• Que estás en la tierra (1962)
• Ni tiro, ni veneno, ni navaja (1965). This book won the Guipúzcoa Award.
• Poeta de guardia (1968)
• Cómo atar los bigotes del tigre (1969). This book won the Vizcaya Award.
• Antología poética (1950-1969)
• Sola en la sala (1973)
• Cuando amas aprendes geografía (1973)
• Obras incompletas (1980)
• Historia de Gloria: (amor, humor y desamor) (1983)
• Mujer de verso en pecho (1983)
• Pecábamos como ángeles (1997)
• Glorierías (1999)
• Es difícil ser feliz una tarde (2005)
• El Rastro (2006) (Short stories)
• Se beben la luz (2008)
• Los brazos desiertos (2009)
• El caserón de la loca (2010) (Theatre)
• Poemas prácticos más que teóricos (2011)

See also

In Spanish: Gloria Fuertes para niños