Elena Santiago

Elena Fernández Gómez (born 8 February 1941), known by the pen name Elena Santiago, is a Spanish writer, the recipient of honors such as the Rosa Chacel Award, the 1999 Province of Valladolid Literary Prize, and the Castile and León Award for Letters.[1][2]

Elena Santiago
Born
Elena Fernández Gómez

(1941-02-08) 8 February 1941
Veguellina de Órbigo, Castile and León, Spain
OccupationWriter
Years active1973–present
Awards
Websitewww.elenasantiago.es

Biography

Elena Santiago was born in Veguellina de Órbigo, where her father, Apolinar Fernández Santiago, was a medical doctor for more than 40 years.[3] Her mother "despite many busy hours, read very continuously, and that was a tireless source of wonders, reading and writing."[4] She began her studies at the age of six, at the school of her hometown. Three years later she continued her studies in León, at the Colegio de la Asunción, where she learned "fear and sadness from not being with the family." Santiago then began teacher training and took Literature Studies, first in León and then in Madrid, where she "changed her life." From the beginning she wanted to dedicate herself to writing, painting, playing the piano, studying languages, and letters. Santiago began publishing in her teens.[5] Little by little she went over to letters until she devoted herself fully to literature.

Her first two publications, selected by Temas magazine, were short stories entitled "El Hijo" and "Historia sobre el terremoto de Perú". Since then, she has continued to publish poetry, short stories, poetic prose, novels, and children's literature.

I write and write. My memory does not stop and my time does not either. Whether it is journalism or literature (my mind chooses some imagined variants) it accompanies me in everything that is life. The language. Seeing beyond...and the thought and the sensations, ready.

— Elena Santiago[4]

Santiago began receiving awards with her first publications in 1973. Her first three novels, La oscuridad somos nosotros (1976), Ácidos días (1979), and Gente oscura (1980), received, respectively, the City of Irún, Novelas y Cuentos, and Miguel Delibes Awards. In her literary career she has alternated novels with short stories, dedicating periods to the latter genre "out of the need to tell stories." This is what happened when she wrote the stories collected under the title Lo tuyo soy yo in 2004.[6]

Another stage of her literary activity was the eight years she devoted to children's literature, and to try to overcome health and family problems. After this period, in which she received honors such as the Rosa Chacel Award[7] and the Castile and León Award for Letters,[1] she reappeared in 2009 with La muerte y las cerezas.[8]

Study of her literary work

The work of Elena Santiago has been studied in the context of the Congress of Contemporary Literature[9] and in that of women novelists in the literary panorama of the 20th century.[10] It was also the subject of the doctoral thesis defended by Dr. Muriel Taján, with the title Mythe personnel et écriture dans l'oeovre d'Elena Santiago, Évolutions et involutions d'une quête de l'absante (2009).[11]

Taján is the author of the prologue to the novel Nunca el ovido that Santiago published in 2015, after a period of six years of absence.[12]

Collective works

Elena Santiago has collaborated on collective works, such as Cuentos de este siglo, Cien años de cuento, El Faro, Miguel Delibes, and Jorge Guillén. She also participated, with 15 other authors, on the project Contemos la Navidad, an anthology of stories and Christmas illustrations in homage to Antonio Pereira, which are published annually.[13] The project is coordinated by José Ignacio García García. In its 2013 edition, the presentation was a tribute to Elena Santiago in which her daughter and granddaughter, who is the author of one of the stories, participated.[14] Another project on which Santiago collaborated compiles traditional folktales narrated by voices of Castile and León.[15] She also contributed to the collective book Inmenso estrecho. Cuentos sobre inmigración (2005), with the story "Finalmente, ¿una oscuridad?", a work in solidarity with immigration in which she advocates the need to move towards a multicultural society.[16]

Works
  • Un camino amarillo, La última puerta, Las horas quietas y Cada invierno (1973–1975), short stories
  • La oscuridad somos nosotros (1976)
  • Un mundo detrás de la puerta, El ruido, Antes de cerrar la puerta (1977), short stories
  • Ácidos días (1979)
  • Gente oscura (1980)
  • Una mujer malva (1980)
  • Manuela y el mundo (1983)
  • Alguien sube (1985)
  • Relato con lluvia (1986), short stories
  • Veva (1988)
  • El amante asombrado (1994)
  • Amor quieto (1997)
  • Cuentos (1997)
  • Ángeles oscuros (1998)
  • Un susto azul (1998), short stories
  • Asomada al invierno (2001)[7]
  • Olas bajo la ciudad (2003), short stories
  • Sueños de mariposa negra (2003), children's literature
  • Lo tuyo soy yo (2004)[17]
  • La muerte y las cerezas (2009)[18]
  • Nunca el olvido (2015)

Awards and recognitions
  • 1973: City of León Award
  • 1974: Ignacio Aldecoa Award
  • 1974: City of San Sebastián Award
  • 1975: Ignacio Aldecoa Award
  • 1976: Lena Award
  • 1976: City of Irún Award
  • 1977: Jauja Award
  • 1977: Calderón Escalada Award
  • 1979: Novelas y Cuentos Award
  • 1979: City of Barbastro Award
  • 1980: La Felguera Award
  • 1980: Miguel Delibes Narrative Award
  • 1981: Hucha de Plata and Hucha de Oro Awards
  • 1983: Felipe Trigo Award[19]
  • 1985: Ateneo de Valladolid Award
  • 1991: A plaza named for her in Veguellina de Órbigo
  • 1998: Rosa Chacel Award[7]
  • 1999: Literary Career Award, from the Diputación de Valladolid[20]
  • 2002: Castile and León Award for Letters[1]
  • 2003: Named Favorite Daughter of Veguellina de Órbigo[21]

References
  1. "Premio Castilla y León de las Letras 2002" [2002 Castile and León Award for Letters] (in Spanish). Council of Castile and León. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. "La escritora leonesa Elena Santiago leerá el documento el lunes en la campa" [The Leonés Writer Elena Santiago Will Read the Document on Monday in the Campaign]. ABC (in Spanish). 21 April 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. Álvarez Prado, Emilio (10 June 2003). "El Ayuntamiento nombrará hija predilecta a la escritora Elena Santiago" [The Council Will Name the Writer Elena Santiago Favorite Daughter]. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  4. "'Mi memoria no cesa y mi tiempo tampoco'" ['My Memory Does Not Stop and My Time Does Not Either']. Diario de León (in Spanish). 23 April 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. "Elena Santiago" (in Spanish). Rimpego. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  6. Gancedo, E. (19 February 2004). "Elena Santiago: 'Mis cuentos son la vida, no son ajenos al hombre'" [Elena Santiago: 'My Stories are Life; They Are Not Alien to Man']. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  7. Obiol, Maria José (23 February 2002). "La fortuna del tiempo lento" [The Fortune of Slow Time]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  8. "Elena Santiago reaparece hoy con 'La muerte y las cerezas', un ensayo sobre la fragilidad y el amor" [Elena Santiago Reappears Today with 'La muerte y las cerezas', an Essay About Fragility and Love]. Diario de León (in Spanish). EFE. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  9. "Literatura actual en Castilla y León: actas del II Congreso de Literatura Contemporánea" [Current Literature in Castile and León: Proceedings of the 2nd Congress of Contemporary Literature] (in Spanish). Dialnet. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  10. Villalba Álvarez, Marina (2000). "Encuentro con la vida: a propósito de Cuentos, de Elena Santiago" [Encounter with Life: About Cuentos, by Elena Santiago]. In Villalba Álvarez, Marina (ed.). Mujeres novelistas en el panorama literario del siglo XX [Women Novelists in the Literary Panorama of the 20th Century] (in Spanish). University of Castilla–La Mancha. pp. 231–235. ISBN 9788484270454. Retrieved 20 August 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. "Mythe personnel et écriture dans l'œuvre d'Elena Santiago : évolutions et involutions d'une quête de l'Absente" [Personal Myth and Writing in the Work of Elena Santiago: Evolutions and Involutions of a Quest for the Absentee]. theses.fr. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  12. Mata, Raúl (2 December 2015). "Elena Santiago regresa con fuerza con la novela 'Nunca el olvido' y estrena web" [Elena Santiago Returns with Force with the Novel 'Nunca el olvido' and Launches Web]. La Razón (in Spanish). Valladolid. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  13. "15 autores de Castilla y León 'regalan' su personal cuento de Navidad" [15 Authors from Castile and León 'Give Away' Their Personal Christmas Story]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Valladolid. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  14. Gómez, Alfredo J. (15 December 2013). "Un cuento de Navidad para la familia de Elena Santiago" [A Christmas Story for the Family of Elena Santiago]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). Valladolid. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  15. "Cuentos populares de Castilla y León" [Folktales of Castile and León] (in Spanish). Fundación Lengua. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  16. "Letras de misterio y belleza" [Letters of Mystery and Beauty] (in Spanish). saber.es. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  17. Castro, Pilar (11 March 2004). "Lo tuyo soy yo". El Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  18. Tovar, Julio (28 April 2009). "La escritora Elena Santiago publica una nueva novela" [The Writer Elena Santiago Publishes a New Novel]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Valladolid. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  19. Escapa, Ernesto (17 March 2013). "Melodías de invierno" [Winter Melodies]. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  20. "El escritor Gustavo Martín Garzo recibe hoy el Premio 'Provincia de Valladolid' a la Trayectoria Literaria 2002 instituido por la Diputación" [The Writer Gustavo Martín Garzo Today Receives the 2002 'Province of Valladolid' Literary Career Award Instituted by the Diputación] (in Spanish). Diputación Provincial de Valladolid. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  21. Álvarez Prado, Emilio (14 June 2003). "Caluroso homenaje a la escritora Elena Santiago, que fue nombrada ayer hija predilecta de la villa" [Warm Tribute to the Writer Elena Santiago, Who was Named Favorite Daughter of the Town Yesterday]. Diario de León (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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