April 25th, 2024 (4:30-6:00pm Boston | 22:30 Madrid)
In Person (Observatorio) & via Zoom
RSVP: https://bit.ly/RSVPObservatorio or info-observatory@fas.harvard.edu
The Observatory commemorates Cervantes' Week and World Book Day 2024 with this lecture devoted to the history of the Cervantes Prize. This award, whose full denomination in Spanish is "Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes'' [Miguel de Cervantes Prize for Literature in Castilian], is the highest distinction that a Spanish-speaking writer can receive for their literary work in the world. It is often said that it is the "Nobel Prize for Literature in Spanish'', but it is not granted only to Spanish writers, but also to authors from other countries who have developed all of their work, or most of it, in the Castilian language. Of all of the literary awards that are granted in Spain, this is without doubt the most prestigious, even if it does not come with the greatest endowment. The Cervantes Prize was founded in 1976 and is given by the King of Spain in the Auditorium of the Universidad de Alcalá (Madrid) every year on April 23rd, the anniversary of the passing of Cervantes. In this talk, Professor Fernando Galván will present its main characteristics, an overview of the almost fifty writers that have received it (twenty five of them from Spain and twenty four from Hispanic America), as well as its cultural, historical, and political importance.
Fernando Galván is Full Professor of English Studies at the Universidad de Alcalá (Madrid, Spain), where he was the President (2010-2018) and now is President Emeritus. He has a distinguished teaching and research career in English fiction, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, literary translation, as well as comparative literary and cultural studies. He has chaired the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies (1996-2002) and the European Society for the Study of English (2007-2013). He is Corresponding Fellow of The English Association, in the UK (2003); Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of History and Geography of UNAM, Mexico (2016); Commander of the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins, Chile (2013); and honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire, awarded in 2018 by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to UK-Spain educational ties.
Language: Spanish