Miguel Hernández

1910–1942

Miguel Hernández (1910–1942) was a Spanish poet and playwright from Orihuela in Alicante. A largely self-taught goatherd’s son, he became friends with Neruda, Aleixandre and Lorca in Madrid, and published El rayo que no cesa (1936), a powerful book of love sonnets.

He fought for the Republic in the Civil War and wrote Viento del pueblo. After the war he was imprisoned and sentenced to death, later commuted; he died of tuberculosis in prison in Alicante. His “Nanas de la cebolla”, written for his hungry infant son, is one of the most moving poems in Spanish.

Best-known poems

All poems (84)

A 2

C 3

E 64

F 1

J 2

L 4

N 1

P 2

R 1

S 2

V 2

Poets of the same era

Medardo Ángel Silva 1898–1919 Evaristo Carriego 1883–1912 Ramón López Velarde 1888–1921 César Vallejo 1892–1938 Líber Falco 1906–1955 Alfonsina Storni 1892–1938 Ricardo Güiraldes 1886–1927 Vicente Huidobro 1893–1948