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Odón Betanzos Palacios (September 16, 1925 – September 24, 2007) was a Spanish poet, novelist, literary critic and professor, based in New York from 1956 until his death in 2007. Odón Betanzos was also a tenured member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española, of which was a Director and Corresponding Member of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Guatemalan, Filipino, Chilean, Colombian and Nicaraguan Language and the Hispanic Society of America.〔(Odón Betanzos-Palacios en el olimpo de la inmortalidad ) (in Spanish: Odón Betanzos – Palacios in the pantheon of inmortality).〕 Moreover, he was president of the Hispanic Cultural Foundation in the United States and was in possession of the Commandery of the Order of Isabel the Catholic and the Civil Merit in the degree of Number granted by the King of Spain.〔〔(Odón Betanzos, el poeta y académico del español en Nueva York ) (In Spanish: Odon Betanzos, the poet and scholar of Spanish in New York).〕 He also received the Silver Medal of Andalusia in 1989,〔 Freedom Prize of the City of New York (1986), Vasconcelos Award (Mexico-1990) for his work of creation〔 and Medal of Christopher Columbus from the Dominican Republic (1991)〔〔 Also, the rocianero writer gave his name to a foundation and an International Poetry Competition – the second largest in the province of Huelva, after Juan Ramon Jimenez-.〔〔(Fallece el escritor Odón Betanzos ) (in Spanish: died the writer Odon Betanzos). Accessed September 19, 2010, 15:00.〕 He was also presidente del Círculo de Escritores y Poetas Iberoamericanos (C.W.P.L.) (In English: President's Circle Latin American Writers and Poets (C.E.P.I.))〔 ==Early years== Odón Betanzos Palacios was born in Rociana del Condado, in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain,〔〔 on September 16,〔 1925.〔〔〔 His father was Manuel (Manolo) Betanzos Valencia, and his mother was Caridad Palacios Urquijo, a descendant of an aristocratic Basque family. His father was shot in August 1936 in the Spanish Civil War, when Odón was 10 years old, as he was accused of being a socialist. His literary taste was evident from an early age, showing a great concern in learning so, he read everything that fell into his hands. He earned honors from the time he began to study until high school ended. Dire need and economic hardship overwhelmed his home. His mother had to leave their village to look for ways to rebuild their lives and try to reunite the family, but he could not stand it any longer. He, therefore, decided to abandon their land and travel alone to Madrid in search of work in August 1942, at the age of sixteen. At this young age he began his forced emigration that lasted until 1956 when he settled in New York City (United States). In Madrid he continued his studies in high school, but his life changed completely by having to work in order to send money home and to also pay for his studies. He had to complete the last three years of high school, 5th, 6th and 7th, for free, studying at night, if and when his work permitted. Surviving was hard, difficult and not very pleasant for the young man at his tender age, with a simultaneous work and study schedule.〔 There were several jobs. The first one was to keep the accounting of a furniture store, while managing it on Calle Valverde, owned by a family friend of his mother – Caledonian Hernandez -a "good and fair man" who helped him a lot during those years of loneliness, anxiety, hunger and misery. Since he didn't make enough money by working at this job, he set up a stationery along with a Basque man- Aldamiz – but the experience would be short – just a few months – because of the many difficulties involved in the business at the time. His first residence was a modest pension in Fuencarral Street where Odon Betanzos found a room to be isolated with his books. Later, his mother decided to settle in Madrid with two of her five children, Manuel and Marisol, and together with Odon, they resided in the home of a sister of his mother's. They finally had their own home. Among the many difficulties a new one was added: Caledonian Hernandez died and the business disappeared with his death, which meant that Odon lost his job and became wrapped in a sea of confusion. He had to find new employment.〔 Odon Betanzos made his way through the Merchant Navy〔〔〔 career in Cadiz, as he himself said, "to raise my family," as from the 40's he sailed the seven seas. In 1956, he stopped sailing while in Caracas, Venezuela where, along with two Spanish friends, he formed an import/export company. The deal yielded no results, despite so many efforts, because it needed more capital available to them. It was precisely in the short time he lived in Venezuela – just four months – that he met and became involved with the outstanding figures of the country. Despite the favorable social environment as they moved in those lands, he decided to settle permanently in The City of New York because the climate was not propitious. He settled there in 1956〔 and in this city he received a master's degree in literature (MA) from Fordham University, and a master's in philosophy (M.Ph.) from The City University of New York. In addition, he did his doctoral studies in Philosophy (PhD) at The City University of New York, Graduate School, and he titled his doctoral thesis: “Experiencias vitales en la obra poética de Miguel Hernández” (In Spanish: Experience vital in the poetry of Miguel Hernandez). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Odón Betanzos Palacios」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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