José María de Cossío

José María de Cossío y Martínez Fortún (Valladolid, March 25, 1892-ib., October 24, 1977) was a Spanish writer and polygrapher, member of the Royal Spanish Academy and author of a monumental bullfighting treatise.

Biography

He completed his Law degree in Valladolid and moved to Madrid to study his doctorate. He later studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Salamanca. In 1920 he edited his first work, a collection of poems titled Epistles for friends . He became a regular figure in Madrid gatherings and collaborated in publications such as El Sol , Revista de Occident and ABC . In 1948 he entered the Royal Spanish Academy with the speech "Lope de Vega, character in his comedies" and occupied chair G. He was director of the courses for foreigners at the Menéndez Pelayo International University and participated in the creation of the Center for Montañeses Studies. in Santander and the magazine Cruz y Raya, together with José Bergamín, in 1933. With Antonio Díaz-Cañabate he began a gathering at the Aquarium café in Madrid and then they moved it to the Kutz café and finally to Lyon d'Or, as the first tells in his Historia de una tertulia (1952).

Expert and great fan of the bullfighting world, he was a friend of bullfighters such as José Gómez Ortega "Joselito"; Ignacio Sánchez Mejías; Rafael Gómez "El Gallo"; Pepe Luis Vázquez; Antonio Bienvenida, and Domingo Ortega. In 1934 he began writing his monumental work dedicated to bullfighting, Los toros , in four volumes, published between 1943 and 1961.

One of his collaborators in his great work on bullfighting was the poet Miguel Hernández. In fact, while other intellectuals did nothing for the Oriolano poet, Cossío was the one who provided him with a regular income that allowed Hernández to settle in Madrid. After the civil war, Cossío, well connected with the side of the victors, used his influences to get Hernández's death sentence commuted to thirty years in prison. He was also a friend of poets of the generation of '27 such as Gerardo Diego, with whom he maintained an extensive correspondence.

Everyone knows the prodigality of José María de Cossío towards his friends over many years. In recent years he lived in the ancestral family house in Tudanca, where he shared meals and long after-dinner conversations with the couple formed by the Cantabrian poetess Matilde Camus and Justo Guisández.

He wrote abundantly about Spanish authors of the Golden Age, such as Alonso de Ercilla, Luis de Góngora and Baltasar Gracián, among many others. He is the author of a reference work on mythology in Spanish poetry, Mythological Fables in Spain (1952).

He had a special connection with Cantabria. He wrote several books about mountain authors, especially José María de Pereda, of whom he edited the Complete Works. Also a football fan, he served as president of Racing de Santander between 1932 and 1936. In relation to Cantabria, after his death a treatise on the Tudanca cattle breed was found, which was published in 1997.

In 1962 he was named president of the Ateneo de Madrid.

Main works

• 1931: Bulls in Castilian poetry. Study and anthology2 vols. Fastenrath Prize of the Royal Spanish Academy.
• 1934: The literary work of Pereda, his history and his criticism.
• 1936: Literary Correspondences of the 19th Century in the Menéndez and Pelayo Library.
• 1936: Spanish Poetry (Asedio Notes).
• 1939: XVII century.
• 1942: Romanticism in sight. Notes and studies of literary criticism. Three studies. Don Alberto Lista's poetry. Don Alberto Lista, theatrical critic of "El Censor". News of Don Manuel de la Cuesta.
• 1943-1961: The Bulls, technical and historical treatise.
• 1948: Lope, character of his works.
• 1952: Mythological Fables of Spain.
• 1954: The literary work of Pereda.
• 1960: Fifty years of Spanish poetry (1850-1900)2 vols.
• 1973: Studies on mountain writers3 vols.