Regional Culture Dept. Unveils 75th BBC Book on Juan José Delgado

The regional government's Culture Department has released a new book, "Juan José Delgado, an Anthological Sage," as part of its Biblioteca Básica Canaria (BBC) collection. This Thursday at 7:00 PM, the book will be officially launched at the State Public Library in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Deputy Minister of Culture, Horacio Umpiérrez, and writer Víctor Álamo de la Rosa, who coordinated the publication, will lead the event. Entry is free until the venue is full.

This book, the 75th in the BBC series, celebrates the life and work of writer and professor Juan José Delgado, who died in 2017. It features a wide selection of his prose, poetry, and essays. Delgado was also a former member of the Canary Academy of Language.

Born in Valle de San Lorenzo, Arona, in 1949, and passing away in La Laguna in 2017, Juan José Delgado Hernández was a multifaceted figure. He was a narrator, poet, and essayist, as well as a secondary school teacher and a professor at the University of La Laguna's Faculty of Philology. He also worked as a journalist, quietly influencing cultural magazines, newspaper literary supplements, and various publishing projects. Delgado was known for mentoring writers, popularizing literature, training educators, writing forewords, and reviewing works.

This new book offers a comprehensive look at Delgado's work, including excerpts from his novels, poetry, essays, and short stories. Throughout his career, he published four novels, five poetry collections, and two short story collections – the last of which, Cáscaras, came out just days before his death in September 2017. He also wrote essays like Por lugares de la modernidad literaria and compiled anthologies of 20th-century Canarian short stories.

Delgado's intellectual, critical, and essay writing is essential for understanding how Canarian literature developed in the 20th and early 21st centuries. His publications and essays are key to grasping the "fetasiano" phenomenon – a unique group of writers, including Rafael Arozarena and Isaac de Vega, who profoundly shaped Canarian literature. They championed a distinctive literary style that still influences many writers and admirers today.

His novels, Canto de verdugo y ajusticiados, Viaje a las tierras perdidas, La fiesta de los infiernos, and La trama del arquitecto, are considered examples of narrative allegorism. He also published five poetry collections, known for their meticulously crafted writing and style: Tres gritos favorables bajo las nubes, Comensales del cuervo, Un espacio bajo el día, El libro de la intemperie, and Los cielos que escalamos.