“Feeling the thought and thinking the feeling”. This is one of the many quotes that Miguel de Unamuno left for posterity. The writer captured his vision of the world in essays that deal with everything from existential questions (such as religion or death) to highly controversial political issues.
His strong personality led him to become a tireless polemicist. He was in conflict with the monarchy of Alfonso XIII; he was banished by the dictator Primo de Rivera; he confronted dozens of Falangists (among them Millán-Astray, founder of the Legion) at the age of 72 when he gave that famous speech in which he said “you will win, but you will not convince”… He criticized to death the shortcomings of Spanish society at the beginning of the 20th century, which has given him a well-deserved place in our literature and history books.
Now, fortunately, we have at the National Library of Spain (Paseo de Recoletos, 20) the exhibition Unamuno and politics. From the pen to the word. In it we can see letters, press articles, speeches and conferences of the essayist. 58 of the parts are original: 38 come from the Archives of the University of Salamanca, the Unamuno House Museum and the Centro Documental de la Memoria Histórica. The other 20 belong to the BNE collections.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are a title of Citizen of Honor, an album with signatures of support sent to the author by his Argentine students, and notebooks from his youth that reveal details of the essayist’s complex character.
General Info for the visit
The exhibition is free of charge and has a maximum capacity of 45 people. It will be on display until December 8 at the library’s Sala Hipóstila, which can be easily reached by taking Renfe commuter train lines 1, 2, 7, 8 and 10 to Recoletos station or the metro to Colón (lines 4 and 10). For groups of five people or more it is necessary to make a reservation a few days in advance through the web page of the BNE.
Times: 🕒 Times: 🕒 Time
- From Monday to Saturday: from 10:00 to 20:00 h.
- Sundays and holidays: from 10:00 to 14:00 h.