Ramón J. Sender: Life and Literary Legacy
Childhood and Early Life
Ramón José Sender Garcés was born in Chalamera, Aragón, on February 3, 1901. His father was a town clerk, and his mother a teacher. The family moved to Alcolea de Cinca, then Tauste, near Zaragoza. Sender’s grandparents were also from Aragón. In The Five Books of Ariadne, he reflects on his Aragonese roots, claiming to embody the “simplest and primary values” of the region’s people.
Sender’s parents came from affluent landowning families, ensuring a comfortable upbringing. He began his formal education at ten, studying under Mosen Joaquin, chaplain of the Santa Clara convent in Tauste. He later attended the school of the monks of St. Peter the Apostle in Reus and completed his baccalaureate in Zaragoza and Alcañiz.
Early Literary Career in Madrid
At 17, Sender ran away to Madrid, experiencing poverty and sleeping in El Retiro park. He began writing articles and stories for newspapers like El País, La Tribuna, and Nueva España, publishing his first story, The Witches of Commitment, under a pseudonym. To survive, he worked in a pharmacy while pursuing self-education at the Athenaeum and the University of Madrid.
Political Activism and Journalism
Sender’s political activism began early, aligning with anarchist groups. At 21, he served in the Moroccan War. Returning to Spain, he joined the prestigious newspaper El Sol as a journalist. He was imprisoned in 1927 for revolutionary activities against Primo de Rivera’s regime.
The Republic and the Civil War
In the early 1930s, Sender traveled to Russia and became disillusioned with anarchist organizations. He reported on the Casas Viejas massacre, leading to the resignation of Azana’s government. He won the National Prize for Literature in 1935 for Mr. Witt in the Canton.
During the Spanish Civil War, Sender’s wife was killed in Zamora. He secured his children’s safety in France and served the Republican cause. He traveled to the US to lecture and later managed a propaganda magazine in Paris. Disillusioned by factional conflicts, he left Spain in 1938.
Exile and Later Life
Sender went into exile in Mexico in 1939, later moving to the US. He taught Spanish literature at various universities and continued writing prolifically. He returned to Spain periodically after 1976, renouncing his US citizenship in 1980. He died in the US on January 16, 1982.
The Work of Sender
Marcelino C. Peñuelas classified Sender’s work into several categories:
- I. Realistic Narrative with Social Implications: Imán (1930), Seven Red Sundays (1932), Journey to the Village of Crime (1934), The Place of a Man (1939), Requiem for a Spanish Peasant (1960)
- II. Satirical, Allegorical, Philosophical, or Poetic Narrative: Night with a Hundred Heads (1934), Sphere (1934), The Laurels of Anselmo (1958)
- III. Allegorical Tales with Realistic Elements: OP (Public Order) (1931), Epithalamium of the Dark Prieto (1942), King and Queen (1949), The Affable Hangman (1952), The Five Books of Ariadne (1957)
- IV. Historical Narrative: Mr. Witt in the Canton (1935), Byzantium (1956), Carolus Rex (1963), Fools of the Conception (1963), Jubilee in the Zócalo (1964), The Equatorial Adventure of Lope de Aguirre (1964), Three Novels of Teresa (1967), Saturnian Creatures (1967)
- V. Autobiographical Series Alba Chronicle: Nine novels in three volumes (1942 and 1966), Odina Monte (1981)
- VI. Tales: Mexicayotl (1940), Key (1960), Exemplary Novels of Cibola (1961), High Cabrerizas (1966), Cervantes and Hens and Other Dishes Stories (1967), The Strange Mr. Photynos and Other American Stories (1968)
- VII. Miscellaneous Tales: Counterattack (1938), Nancy’s Thesis (1962), Nancy, Gypsy PhD (1974), Nancy and the Crazy Bato (1974), The Moon Dogs (1962), The Adolescent Bandit (1965)
- VIII. Other Works: Essays, theater, poetry, and collections of articles.