José María Iparraguirre Balerdi was born on 12 August 1820 in Urretxu, Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, and died on 6 April 1881 in Itsaso, near his native district. He occupies an unusual and enduring place in Basque cultural history: he was at once a poet, singer, guitarist, wandering performer, Carlist veteran, exile, emigrant, and popular symbol. His fame rests above all on “Gernikako Arbola” (“The Tree of Gernik…
“God forbid that any bloody struggle should come to darken our picturesque mountains with mourning; let every good Spaniard refrain from taking up arms, whether in the Carlist or the republican cause.”
Neighbourhood:
Folk & Ballad Poets, Love Poets, Poet-Musicians, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Spirituality, Joy, Peace
Francis Thompson was born on 18 December 1859 in Preston, Lancashire, and died in London on 13 November 1907. His life has often been told as a dramatic Victorian parable: the devout doctor’s son who failed at the professions chosen for him, fell into homelessness and opium dependence in London, and was rescued into literary recognition by sympathetic Catholic publishers. There is truth in that narrative, but it can…
“Without health, no energy; without energies, no struggle. Seldom does the faineant become the Saint; the vigorous sinner often. He that sins strongly has the stuff of sanctity, rather than the languid sinner.”
Neighbourhood:
Devotional Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Symbolist Poets
Emotional landscape: Fear, Tenderness, Longing
