He resembled folklore characters - a poor shepherd boy who became a great poet. The fascist regime did not allow the fairy tale to come true.
This is the tragic fate of the best sons of any nation - they are the first to react to the slightest injustice and immediately take on the salvation of the world. Only human strength is not enough for this.
Childhood
Miguel was born in October 1910 and fate did not prepare any gifts for him. His father, Miguel Hernandez Sanchez, was a shepherd and lived in poverty. The family lived in the city of Orihuela in Spain, where farmers' estates began just outside the outskirts, providing work for the local poor. The head of the family could feed himself, his wife and three children, so he was happy. Over time, he even managed to acquire his own herd.
From an early age, the boy got used to work. He had to inherit the profession of a parent. School education for the sheep driver was limited to a few classes, and it was only allowed to attend classes in his free time. Once in a meadow, a local priest spoke to the teenager. The Holy Father was impressed by how this little ragamuffin subtly perceives the words of the Holy Scripture, compares them to songs. The old man could not pass by such a miracle, he invited a new acquaintance to visit him and offered to choose from his library books that he would want to read. Later it was he who prompted Miguel to enroll in the library, and in 1923 sent him to a school at a Jesuit monastery.
Youth
Reading did not harm work, so no one paid attention to the shepherd's hobby. He also got acquainted with classical Spanish literature and dreamed of making his own contribution to the fine literature of his native land. The idol of the young man was the Baroque poet Luis de Gongola y Argote. Miguel's soul was touched by both the poetry of this man and his tragic fate - having arrived at the invitation of the king in Madrid and received the position of a court poet, this eccentric soon became disillusioned with his service, abandoned everything, returned to his native place, where he died in poverty.
In 1929, the Orihuela weekly published poems by an unknown author. For a long time the townspeople could not believe that they were a nineteen-year-old shepherd. The Hernandez elders were also impressed. They could not keep a talented son with them, they understood that his career would be more successful than theirs, and life is much more interesting.
First try
5 years after his debut, the young writer set off to conquer the capital. Here he found a warm welcome from his colleagues. Art of the early twentieth century. was a field for experimentation, the search for new forms, and the emergence of a nugget from the provinces among the creators found the approval of those who were already famous.
The publishers greeted the boy in a completely different way. They were interested in his work, but the beginning writer was paid very little. Hernandez is not used to begging and living at someone else's expense, so the year of ordeals ended with a return to his father's house. Here he could devote free hours to perfecting his style.
Madrid
In 1933, the stubborn shepherd was back in Madrid. One of the publishing houses undertook to publish a collection of his works. The book was such a success that its author was invited to speak at the University of Cartagena. Soon he managed to find a job - our hero was engaged in pedagogy, edited the encyclopedia.
His comrades, Vincente Aleixandre, Garza Lorca and Pablo Neruda, were glad when Hernandez returned. In addition to creativity, they were united by a desire to fight social injustice. Miguel was well acquainted with the hardships of the life of the poor, therefore, having become acquainted with the ideas of the communists, he approved them, but was in no hurry to enter the party. Together with his friends and like-minded people, the young poet visited Moscow, the capital of the first socialist state, during the war.
Love
In 1937 g. Miguel Hernandez came to Orihuela to visit his parents. There was a fair in the town, and the guy went there to see people and show himself. Local youth were delighted to see the celebrity. Among the enthusiastic fans was the fragile girl Josephine Manresa. She had long been in love with the poet, but she was afraid that her modest biography would not impress him. Miguel noticed the beauty.
The marriage was contracted in the same year. For her husband, Josephine will be a source of inspiration. It is she who will be able to save his manuscripts during the hard times of war. The personal life of this woman will be tragic. A year after the wedding, she will give birth to a child who will soon die, the second attempt to become a mother will also end sadly. Manresa will have to give birth immediately after the arrest of his spouse, the child will not survive.
War
In 1936, the political crisis in Spain escalated into a civil war. Miguel Hernandez could not stand aside when the fascist regime took over his homeland. He chose his side - at the moment when the far-right putsch began, the poet joined the Spanish Communist Party and the ranks of the republican army. He acted as a political worker, wrote leaflets.
When things went really bad for the Republicans, Hernandez tried to cross the border with Portugal, but was captured by the police there. The government of the neighboring country sympathized with the Francoists, therefore the detainee was handed over to the Nazis, however, asking not to shoot. In order not to anger the allies and the people who knew and loved Miguel's poetry, the court sentenced him to 30 years in prison. In 1942 the poet died of tuberculosis; he wrote the last lines on the wall of a prison cell.
