Martínez Ruiz, José


Martínez Ruiz, José

(hōsā` märtē`nĕth ro͞oēth`), 1873?–1967, Spanish writer. He often used the pseudonym Azorín. A political radical in the 1890s, he moved steadily to the right. In literature Martínez exemplified the Generation of '98Generation of '98,
Spanish literary and cultural movement in the first two decades of the 20th cent. It was so named by Azorín (see Martínez Ruiz, José) in 1913 to designate a group of young writers who, in the face of defeat (1898) in the Spanish-American
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 (a term he coined), especially in his attempt to define the eternal qualities of Spanish life. His essays and criticism are written in a simple, compact style. Particularly notable are his impressionistic descriptions of Castilian towns and landscape. Among his many other works are the autobiographical novels La voluntad (1902) and Antonio Azorín (1903); the novel Don Juan (1922, tr. 1923); and a collection of short stories (1929, tr. 1931).

Bibliography

See studies by L. A. LaJohn (1961) and K. Glenn (1981).