Antonio Machado is among the five greatest Spanish poets of the twentieth century, a period blessed with fine poets, and is also respected for his book of prose articles titled Juan de Mairena (1936). Outside Spain, Federico García Lorca, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Jorge Guillén, and Vicente Aleixandre are better known; inside Spain, Machado is particularly revered. His first book, Soledades (1903; translated as Times Alone, 1983), emphasizes the theme of time and memory; his other major volume, Campos de Castilla (1912; translated as The Castilian Camp, 1982), imperishably captures the "Castilian" theme, exploring the essential Spanish spirit. In Soledades he pursues a heightened consciousness through the elaboration of memory; in Campos de Castilla he reveals his love of the Spanish land, a love at times bittersweet.

Antonio Machado y Ruiz was born in the Palacio de las Dueñas on the outskirts of Seville...