Tomás Morales: Canarian Modernist Poet and His Legacy
Tomás Morales: A Canarian Modernist Poet
Tomás Morales Castilian (October 10, 1884, Moya, Las Palmas – August 15, 1921, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) was a Spanish poet, a leader of insular lyrical modernism, and the initiator of modern Canarian poetry. He is considered one of the leading poets of Spanish modernism. Author of Roses of Hercules, his work is highlighted by the poem Ode to the Atlantic.
Early Life and Education
In 1893, Morales began his primary studies at the Colegio de San Agustín, which he completed in 1898. During the next two years, he wrote his first poems. He shared his generation with other island poets such as Alonso Quesada, Saulo Torón, and Victorio Macho. He coincided at the college of St. Augustine with Alonso Quesada and the painter Néstor Martín Fernández de la Torre. He moved to Cádiz in 1900 to pursue medical studies. His first poems were published in the newspaper The Telephone (Las Palmas) between 1902 and 1903. He went to Madrid in 1904 to further his studies at the Faculty of San Carlos. In the capital, he befriended the Canarian writer Luis Doreste Silva. The latter, along with the Canarian writer Ángel Guerra, introduced him to life in Madrid, where he frequented the meeting places of the writers of the time. He attended the gatherings of Francisco Villaespesa, that of Universal coffee, and that of Carmen de Burgos, “Colombine”, director of the Critical Review. His friendship with “Colombine” made him known among the intelligentsia in Madrid. Possibly in this get-together, he got to know Rubén Darío. Between 1906 and 1908, he maintained a friendship with poets Fernando Fortún, Enrique Díez Canedo, Francisco Villaespesa, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, and others. In 1907, he published poems and reviews in the Latina magazine founded by Villaespesa that year.
Return to Gran Canaria and Later Years
After publishing his first book and finishing his career, obtaining a doctorate the following year, he returned to Gran Canaria in 1909. He was appointed attending physician in Agaete in 1911 and remained there until 1919 when he moved as a physician to Las Palmas. In 1920, he received several tributes upon the publication of Book II of The Roses of Hercules. During this season, he planned the edition of the first part of his work. In 1921, he was elected Vice President of the Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria. His political career, however, would not last long, as he died in Las Palmas on August 15. He could not see his dream of publishing a complete Las Rosas de Hercules.
His untimely death occurred after receiving the laurel of the Ateneo de Madrid.
Today, a high school and a block in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are named after him. He is also one of the historic lateen sail boats that bargain in the Bay of Havana.
Bibliography
- Las Rosas de Hercules. Bethany’s dinner. Versions Leopardi, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1984.
- Las Rosas de Hercules, Gobierno de Canarias (BBC # 22), 1990.
- Las Rosas de Hercules, Barcelona, Mondadori, 2000.
- ARTILES, Joaquín and Quintana, Ignacio: History of literature Canarian Commonwealth Councils, 1978.
- Various Authors: Biographies of famous canaries. EDIRC, 1982.
- DE LA NUEZ CABALLERO, S., Tomás Morales. His life, his time, his work, 2 vols., La Laguna, La Laguna University, 1956.
- —, Introduction to the study of Atlantic Ode to Tomas Morales. Manuscripts. Genesis and structures, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Cabildo de Gran Canaria, 1973.
- GONZÁLEZ SOSA, M., (ed.): Tomás Morales. Critical sum, La Laguna, Instituto de Estudios Canarios, 1992.
- NUEZ, Sebastián, de la “Modernist poetry of the Canary Islands,” Historia de Canarias, Cupsa Editorial, 1981, Volume III, p.163-168.
- QUINTANA, José: 96 poets from the Canary Islands, Bilbao, 1970, pp. 123-127.
- PADRÓN RODRÍGUEZ, Jorge: First trial for a dictionary of literature in Canary Islands Government, 1992.
- PADRÓN RODRÍGUEZ, Jorge: “Under the sign of Thomas Morales” in reading contemporary poetry Canary, Canary Islands Government, 1991, pp. 93-105.
- PELO SUÁREZ, J.J.: Introduction to the study of poetic language of Thomas Morales, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands Government, 1985.