The jury emphasizes the writer’s Cervantine origin, who stands out for his mastery of humor and irony
Luis Landero (Alburquerque, Badajoz, age 74) won the National Prize for Letters on Monday, endowed with 40,000 euros. Landero, a writer of Cervantine affiliation, found a place in Spanish literature when he published “Games of the late age” in 1989, a novel that won him the Castilian Narrative Critics Award and the National Narrative Award. He has delivered 16 books to print, including 11 novels.
Before turning to lyrics and teaching, Landero tried his luck as a flamenco guitarist. He has reconciled his career as a novelist with his work as a teacher in Madrid, first at the Calderón de la Barca Institute in Madrid and then at the Royal School of Dramatic Art.
The jury emphasized that the author is an “extraordinary storyteller, creator of numerous fictions with characters and atmospheres of great expressiveness and excellent writing, who rediscovers the Cervantine tradition with a mastery of humor and irony and brilliantly plays the role of imagination.”
The jury members emphasize that «Luis Landero belongs to the first generation of Spanish democracy and has played a fundamental role in the renewal of our literature. His first novel, published in 1989, was a literary and in a sense historical milestone. He has preserved, with the same eagerness, the pulse and originality that already appeared in his literary beginnings and which have led him to retain in his readers an enormous capacity for amazement.
The jury consisted of Inés Fernández-Ordóñez, who represented the Royal Spanish Academy; Rosario Álvarez, by the Royal Galician Academy; German Tabernacle, by the Royal Academy of the Basque Language; Ángela Vilallonga, for the Institute of Catalan Studies; Rosa María Agost, from the Valencian Academy of Language; Montserrat Iglesias, at the proposal of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE); Manuel Rico, by the Collegiate Association of Writers of Spain (ACE); Francisco José Díaz de Castro, by the Spanish Association of Literary Critics; Carmen Rodríguez, for the Federation of Journalists’ Associations of Spain (FAPE); Juan Manuel Goig, at the suggestion of the Gender Studies Center of the UNED; Marta Sánchez and Nieves Fernández for the Ministry of Culture and Sports; and the writer José María Merino, awarded the same prize in 2021.
The National Prize for Letters began to be awarded in 1984, when Josep Vicenç Foix was awarded. In the first decade, José Hierro (1990), Francisco Ayala (1988) or Carmen Martín Gaite (1994) received this award, and in more recent editions Rosa Montero (2017), Francisca Aguirre (2018), Bernardo Atxaga (2019), Luis Mateo Diez (2020) and Jose Maria Merino (2021).
Source: La Verdad
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