Miguel Hernández was born on October 30, 1910 in San Juan Street in Orihuela, opposite the Clarissian nuns' convent, at a time when the city was deeply marked by religious orthodox. His father, Miguel Hernández Sánchez, was a herdsman and his mother, Concepción Gilabert Giner, a housewife and mother to Vicente, Elvira, Miguel and Encarnación.
His father's occupation - buying and selling goat and sheep, meant that the family lead a simple, humble life but they were by no means on the breadline or needy. In fact, it was this profession that led the family to move house to number 73 in the street 'calle de Arriba' (which is now a museum - house), before Miguel was 4 years old and it was here, next to the mountains of Orihuela where Miguel Hernández became a shepherd, helping his brother Vicente.
Miguel always had a cold, distant relationship with his father, which was quite typical when it came to the traditional values and behaviour of the time, where authority, discipline and catholic moral were the order of the day. So we can say that from a young age Miguel was a victim of paternal insensitivity when it came to his upbringing, and his cultural and intellectual development. However, in his mother he found understanding, support and love as she took on the role of mediator in the face of the paternal coldness in the home.
Miguel spent very little time at school. At the age of 4 and for six months he went to a crèche-playschool near his new home. At the age of eight, he managed to get into the Ave María school and at 12 (1923-24) he went to the Santo Domingo school, but a year and a half later his father made him leave to do other tasks apart from being a shepherd. However, Miguel kept his interest in reading and culture alive and secretly read and frequently visited the library of the priest Luis Almarcha where he discovered and studied classical literature.
Miguel's first literary dappling as a young poet came about around 1925, and it is a faithful reflection of the simplicity of the rural world he lived in - the mountains and landscape, the animals, vegetable growing, trees… it's a colourist poetry, baroque, with a clear gongorine influence (from Luis de Gongora). His poetic expression is like a fan of colours, a type of literary rainbow which is inspired by everything that surrounds him. Miguel began by publishing poems in magazines and local newspapers such as ‘EI Pueblo de Orihuela’, ‘Voluntad’ and ‘Destellos’, and later on in the newspaper 'La Verdad', Murcia, where he published his first book of poems with the moral and literary support of his friend Ramón Sijé (Pepe Marín) and financial support from the priest Luis Almarcha (who gave him 425 pesetas). In 1931, the city of Elche awarded him his first and only poetic prize and at the end of the same year he took his first trip to Madrid, happy with an innocent hope and a need for adventure. This first trip was a failure and he had to go back to Orihuela highly disappointed, but nonetheless convinced that there was no going back now and that poetry formed part of his life. In 1933 he published 'Perito en Lunas', (Moon expert) which did not receive such acclaim as was hoped and from 1934 on, Miguel would visit Madrid on several occasions before eventually settling down there in 1935 with the hope of finding the recognition that up to then he didn't have. He knew that the crème de la crème of the world of literature could be found there. He had already met Federico García Lorca, and he would go on to meet Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre and Pablo Neruda, in the capital city. Nevertheless, he was still under the influence of his catholic friend Sijé, and his poetry would therefore be marked by religion. In autumn of that same year his relationship with Josefina Manresa officially began.
During this time, between 1933 and 1935, Miguel published work in the José Bergamín's Madrid magazine ‘Cruz y Raya’, and in the Orihuelan 'run by his friend Sijé. He wrote the religious play ‘Quien te ha visto y quién te ve’ (Look what you’ve become) and 'Sombra de lo que eras’ (A shadow of what you were’), inspired by the spirituality of Calderón. However, after several trips to Madrid, he would soon be influenced by the literary and ideological ideas of Neruda and what was known as 'La Escuela de Vallecas’ (The school of Vallecas) (which included the painter Maruja Mallo, and the artists Benjamín Palencia and Alberto Sánchez).
Miguel made his presence in Madrid known by getting work in the editing of the encyclopaedia ‘Los Toros’, by José María de Cossío, making his way into the literary elite 'The Generation of '27', with the help of Neruda and Aleixandre mainly, who looked after him like a son. The Orihuelan poet's personality was new, having discovered this new literary and ideological world.
He breaks away from his religious beliefs, leading to a conceptual distancing from his friend Sijé. It is at this time when he writes ‘Los hijos de la piedra’ (The children of the stone), influenced by the aesthetic of The Group from Vallecas and he becomes more mature both personally and literally speaking in an environment that captivates him. So much so, that the publishing of the book 'La destrucción o el amor' (Destruction or love) by Aleixandre has a great impact on him and paves the way for him to start writing about one of the most common Hernandiano themes - love. A mixture of influences, such as the classic religious writers such as San Juan de la Cruz, Fray Luis de León and Quevedo, as well as contemporary writers like Aleixandre (who would go on to win the Nobel prize) led to the writing of 'EI rayo que no cesa’ (The unceasing lightening), a collection of love sonnets which includes some of the most beautiful work of Hernández.
The changing cultural environment affects the poet and leads to him and Josefina growing apart. He starts showing an interest in the Murcian poet María Cegarra and the painter Maruja Mallo. At the end of the year, the news of the death of his beloved friend Ramón Sijé is quite a blow for Miguel and from this arises one of the deepest, dramatic and harrowing eulogies of Spanish literature - the eulogy to Ramón Sijé.
Ideologically speaking, Miguel is now mature, and he is also involved in politics. With the break out of the civil war the poet enlists in the Republican Army and he is given the title of Cultural inspector on the front lines. He forms part of the 5th regiment under the orders of 'EI Campesino' (the countryman). He fights in the Madrid and Andalusia fronts and meets the Cuban brigadier Pablo de la Torriente in the trenches, who he writes an eulogy for after his death. In March 1937 he marries Josefina Manresa and then goes on to travel to Russia as part of the Spanish deputation, to participate in the 5th Festival of Soviet theatre.
Miguel becomes a trench poet at this time, with his social and political convictions and this is reflected in his poetry. In 1937 he writes 'Viento del Pueblo' (Wind of the people) (dedicated to Vicente Aleixandre), an excellent example of heroic poetry of popular exaltation. 'The man who lies in wait' (1939) is, however, a more private poem and reflects the human misery caused by pain, war and hate. Miguel withdraws into himself and loneliness and death are present in his poetry.
The last stage in the life of Miguel was a series of events that would make it an ordeal. Apart from unfortunate events in his personal life (his first son, Manuel Ramón, had died in 1938) in general, things were not particularly good (the war was practically lost, the fear of death and repression were very much at the forefront). It is a time of bitterness, only relieved somewhat by the news of the birth of his second son, Manuel Miguel.
His vía crucis really takes hold when he tries to flee the country on foot across the Portuguese border at the end of the war and is arrested. He is taken to prison in Rosal de la Frontera, his first prison. He is tortured and humiliated and is sent from one prison to the next, including prisons in Huelva, Sevilla, Torrijos (Madrid), Orihuela, Madrid again, Palencia, Ocaña and Alicante. Miguel is sentenced to death but this sentence is later changed to 30 years in prison.
The poetry collection 'Songs and ballads of absences' comes from this time, a collection marked by bitterness and loneliness, a more personal collection. In captivity, Miguel writes beautiful poems such as ‘Nanas de la cebolla' (The onion lullaby) for his son and despite the terrible physical conditions he has to bear, his personal integrity and dignity do not flay and are worthy of praise (a simple letter in which he renounced his political convictions and his joining the new regime would have sufficed for him to be able to leave the prison and get medical care in a sanatorium). Miguel was aware that he was dying, as he confessed to his friend and prison mate Luis Fabregat Terrés hours before his death 'Look Luis, I am more than aware of where this is going'. Miguel Hernández died on March 28, 1942, a product of resentment and obscurity.