Miguel de Unamuno

Author profile

born

September 29, 1864 in Spain

died

December 31, 1936

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry

About this author

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Miguel de Unamuno was born in the medieval centre of Bilbao, Basque Country, the son of Félix de Unamuno and Salomé Jugo. As a young man, he was interested in the Basque language, and competed for a teaching position in the Instituto de Bilbao, against Sabino Arana. The contest was finally won by the Basque scholar Resurrección María de Azcue.

Unamuno worked in all major genres: the essay, the novel, poetry and theatre, and, as a modernist, contributed greatly to dissolving the boundaries between genres. There is some debate as to whether Unamuno was in fact a member of the Generation of '98 (an ex post facto literary group of Spanish intellectuals and philosophers that was the creation of José Martínez Ruiz — a group that includes Antonio M...more Miguel de Unamuno was born in the medieval centre of Bilbao, Basque Country, the son of Félix de Unamuno and Salomé Jugo. As a young man, he was interested in the Basque language, and competed for a teaching position in the Instituto de Bilbao, against Sabino Arana. The contest was finally won by the Basque scholar Resurrección María de Azcue.

Unamuno worked in all major genres: the essay, the novel, poetry and theatre, and, as a modernist, contributed greatly to dissolving the boundaries between genres. There is some debate as to whether Unamuno was in fact a member of the Generation of '98 (an ex post facto literary group of Spanish intellectuals and philosophers that was the creation of José Martínez Ruiz — a group that includes Antonio Machado, Azorín, Pío Baroja, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Ramiro de Maeztu and Ángel Ganivet, among others).

In addition to his writing, Unamuno played an important role in the intellectual life of Spain. He served as rector of the University of Salamanca for two periods: from 1900 to 1924 and 1930 to 1936, during a time of great social and political upheaval. Unamuno was removed from his post by the government in 1924, to the protest of other Spanish intellectuals. He lived in exile until 1930, first banned to Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), from where he escaped to France. Unamuno returned after the fall of General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship and took up his rectorship again. It is said in Salamanca that the day he returned to the University, Unamuno began his lecture by saying "As we were saying yesterday, ...", as Fray Luis de León had done in the same place four centuries before, as though he had not been absent at all. After the fall of Rivera's dictatorship, Spain embarked on its second Republic, a short-lived attempt by the people of Spain to take democratic control of their own country. He was a candidate for the small intellectual party Al Servicio de la República.

The burgeoning Republic was eventually squashed when a military coup headed by General Francisco Franco caused the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Having begun his literary career as an internationalist, Unamuno gradually became a convinced Spanish nationalist, feeling that Spain's essential qualities would be destroyed if influenced too much by outside forces. Thus for a brief period he actually welcomed Franco's revolt as necessary to rescue Spain from radical influence. However, the harsh tactics employed by the Francoists in the struggle against their republican opponents caused him to oppose both the Republic and Franco.

As a result of his opposition to Franco, Unamuno was effectively removed for a second time from his University post. Also, in 1936 Unamuno had a brief public quarrel with the Nationalist general Millán Astray at the University in which he denounced both Astray and elements of the Francoist movement. He called the battle cry of the rightist Falange movement—"Long live death!"—repellent and suggested Astray wanted to see Spain crippled. One historian notes that his address was a "remarkable act of moral courage" and that he risked being lynched on the spot. Shortly afterwards, he was placed under house arrest, where he remained, broken-hearted, until his death ten weeks later.[1]
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Books by Miguel de Unamuno

Average rating: 3.93 · 3,043 ratings · 163 reviews · 122 distinct works

	Niebla 4.01 avg rating — 1,264 ratings — published 1914 — 45 editions	My rating:
	San Manuel Nueno Martir by Miguel de Unamuno, Victor Garcia de La Concha (Editor) 3.99 avg rating — 574 ratings — published 1931 — 22 editions	My rating:
	Tragic Sense of Life by Miguel de Unamuno, Crawford Flitch (Translator) 4.10 avg rating — 337 ratings — published 1912 — 46 editions	My rating:
	Abel Sanchez and Other Stories 4.08 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 1963 — 3 editions	My rating:
	La Tía Tula 3.35 avg rating — 204 ratings — published 1921 — 25 editions	My rating:
	Three Exemplary Novels by Miguel de Unamuno, Angel Flores (Translator) 3.77 avg rating — 101 ratings — published 1968 — 12 editions	My rating:
	Nada Menos Que Todo Un Hombre 3.67 avg rating — 70 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Amor y pedagogía by Miguel de Unamuno, Ana Caballe (Editor) 3.23 avg rating — 57 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Vida De Don Quijote Y Sancho/ the Life of Don Quijote and Sancho 4.18 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 1976 — 3 editions	My rating:
	هابیل و چند داستان دیگر by Miguel de Unamuno, ترجمه بهاء الدین خرمشاهی 3.96 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2000	My rating:

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Quotes by Miguel de Unamuno

“At times to be silent is to lie. You will win because you have enough brute force. But you will not convince. For to convince you need to persuade. And in order to persuade you would need what you lack: Reason and Right”
― Miguel de Unamuno

tags: lies , lying , reason , silence , truth

52 people liked it

“Life is doubt,
And faith without doubt is nothing but death.”
― Miguel de Unamuno

tags: doubt , faith , life

29 people liked it

“Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible.”
― Miguel de Unamuno

tags: inspirational , motivational

26 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Around the World ...: Spain	4	47	Oct 29, 2011 02:49pm
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Miguel de Unamuno

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Miguel de Unamuno

Quotes by Miguel de Unamuno

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by Miguel de Unamuno