Carlos Bousono was a Spanish poet and literary critic. His work is frequently associated with the post-Spanish Civil War literary group.
Background
Carlos Bousono was born in Boal, Asturias, Spain on March 9, 1923, the son of Luis Bousono, a businessman, and Margarita Prieto (Fernandez de la Liana) Canoeera, a teacher. When he was two years old, his family moved to Oviedo. After his mother died unexpectedly and his father and brother relocated to Mexico, ten-year-old Bousono moved into the home of an aunt who showed little tolerance for children. He stayed with his aunt for the next nine years, a period he later recalled as one of suffering and unhappiness.
Education
Carlos moved to Madrid when he was 19, graduating from the Central University (now known as Complutense) with the Extraordinary Prize in 1946. He completed his master's degree there in 1949.
In 1945 Carlos published his first volume of poetry, Subida al amor (“Ascent to Love”), which deals with struggles for religious faith. In 1946 he went to Mexico and then to the United States to teach literature at Wellesley College (Massachusetts).
In 1948 he returned to Spain to the University of Madrid, where he taught courses on poetry. Thereafter he combined writing and teaching.
By 1950, his work La poesía de Vicente Aleixandre (The poetry of Vicente Aleixandre) became widely recognised, and today it remains one of the best and deepest works about Vicente Aleixandre's poetry. His passion for poetry, along with his intelligence and curiosity, helped him make early inroads within the world of literary theory.
In 1952, he published Teoría de la expresión poética (Theory of poetic expression), in which he analyzes the secrets of the poetic mystery. He became a renowned interpreter of Spanish literature and an influential literary critic. Bousono taught Spanish literature at several American universities, including Wellesley, Smith, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, and New York University.
He then became lecturer of Stylistics at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he remained a Professor Emeritus. Among his students of poetry who credited his teachings as influential to their careers was the Puerto Rico poet Giannina Braschi, author of "Yo-Yo Boing!" and "United States of Banana". In his book Épocas literarias y evolución (Literary times and evolution), Bousono analyzed the history of literary ages and their corresponding movements and evolution.
Bousono was an important figure in the history of twentieth-century Spanish letters as perhaps the best poet among the early postcivil war generation in Spain. He was a recipient of numerous awarda included both the National Prize for Spanish Literature and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature.
