Antonio Gamoneda was born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain in 1931 and grew up in León. Gamoneda was deeply involved in the resistance movement opposed to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, in power from 1939 to 1975. His first book was published in 1960 and shortlisted for the Adonais Prize. He did not bring out another book until 1977. His work only began to receive the attention it deserved after he was awarded the Castilla y León Poetry Prize in 1985 and the National Poetry Prize in 1987. In 2006, Gamoneda received the two highest honors a writer can receive in the Spanish-speaking world, the Reina Sofía Poetry Prize and the Cervantes Prize. Self- taught and prolific, a unique voice in post-Civil War Spanish poetry, he continues to be a vital and powerful poetic presence in Spain and throughout the world.