Language(s) taught
Spanish
Teaching/Research
Contemporary Spanish and Latin American Poetry, Contemporary Spanish and Latin American Literature, Transatlantic Studies, Peninsular Studies, Migrations and Exile in the Spanish Speaking World
Degrees/Certifications
PhD, Spanish and Latin American Literature (2002) Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Certificate in Applied Linguistics (1995) Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
BA, Spanish Philology (1994) Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Academic achievement
As a researcher, Benito del Pliego has written critical essays about contemporary Spanish exiled writers in the Americas (such as León Felipe, and Juan Larrea), and Latin American poets migrated to Spain within the last decades. He has edited and introduced Mario Merlino’s poetry under the title Voces communes y otros poemas, and Extracomunitarios. Nueve poetas latinoamericanos en España. In collaboration with Andrés Fisher (also a colleague of our department), he has edited José Viñals’ poetry anthology Caballo en el Umbral (Mérida, Spain: Editora Regional de Extremadura, 2010) and a single book by the same author titled Alcoholes y otras substancias.
He has published numerous poetry books: Fisiones (1997); Alcance de la mano (1998); Índice (2004, and 2011), Merma (2009), Muesca (2010), Fábula (2012) and Extracción (2013).
He has translated Isel Rivero’s English poetry (Las palabras son testigos/Words are witnesses. Madrid, 2010), and (in collaboration with Dr. Andrés Fisher) Gertrude Stein’s selected pieces Objetos y retraros. Geografía (2014), and Lew Welch’s Círculo de Hueso (2013).
He has also received several distinctions in Spain: One of his object-poems received the 2003 “City of Badajoz” Experimental Poetry Award. Índice, obtained the “Gabriel Celaya” International Poetry Award in 2004. Mermawas finalist at the “Ausias March Poetry Award” granted by the Spanish critic association Addison de Witt in 2010.
His poems has been included in several anthologies; among them Panic Cure: Poetry from Spain for the 21st Century, Edited and translated in 2013 by the acclaimed american poet Forrest Gander, The Spanish/Latino Issue published in 2008 by the International Poetry Review, and Malditos latinos Malditos sudacas. Poesía Iberoamericana Made in USA edited in 2010 by Mónica de la Torre and Cristián Gómez.
Personal Bio
Benito del Pliego was born in Madrid, from manchegan parents, in 1970 and has lived in the US since 1997. Before arriving to Boone, he was an instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans, and taught Spanish for the NGO Care International, based in Atlanta. He keeps strong ties with Spain and has travelled there many summers leading the LLC Spanish Program in Spain. He has helped stablishing agreements with two Spanish universities: Universidad Pablo de Olavide, in Seville, and Universidad de Salamanca.
He has also travelled extensibly through Latin America and has been invited to teach seminars at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá and Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, in Argentina.
Del Pliego has collaborated with other friends in several artistic fields. He was a member of Delta Nueve, a poetry and visual arts collective that worked in Madrid during the 90’s. He has been the narrator in a symphonic poem, composed by Gustado David Pineda based on his poems, that has been presented at the Atlanta High Museum of Art and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He has also collaborated with the visual artist of Chilean origins Pedro Núñez in the illustrated editions of two of his poetry books: Índice and Fábula.
Publications/Presentations
Scholarly publications (books)
(Ed.) Extracomunitarios: 9 poetas latinoamericanos en España. Madrid: FCE, 2013
(Ed.) Voces comunes y otros poemas. Poesía reunida (1977-2006). De Mario Merlino. Madrid: FCE, 2012.
(Trad. and ed, ). Words are Witnesses/ Las palabras son testigos. Obra poética en inglés (1970-2008).de Isel Rivero. Madrid: Verbum, 2010
La obra ensayística de Juan Larrea y los fundamentos de la modernidad artística. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ediciones, 2005.
León Felipe. El escritor y su obra. Madrid: Eneida, 2002.
In collaboration with Dr. Andrés Fisher
(Ed. y Trand.) Objetos y retratos. Geografía. Selección de piezas breves. by Gertrude Stein. Madrid: Amargord, 2014
(Ed. y Trand.) Círculo de Hueso/Ring of Bone. by Lew Welch. Madrid: Varasek, 2013
(ed.). Alcoholes y otras substancias. by José Viñals. Madrid: Amargord, 2012
(ed.). Caballo en el umbral. Antología poética (1958-2006). by José Viñals. Mérida, Spain: Editora Regional de Extremadura. 2010
Poetry books (selection)
Extracción. Notas de un dietario. México D.F.: El Tucán de Virginia, 2013
Fábula [illustrated by Pedro Núñez]. Badajoz, España: Aristas Martínez Editores, 2012
Índice [illustrated by Pedro Núñez]. Madrid: Varasek Ediciones, 2011
Muesca. Madrid: Amargord, 2010.
Merma. Tenerife: Baile del Sol, 2009
Poetry Anthologies including samples of his work (selection)
Gander, Forrest (ed. y Trad.) Panic Cure: Poetry from Spain for the 21st Century. Bristol, UK: Shearsman Books, 2013.
Cumbreño, José María (Ed.). Aquelarre. Trece poetas españoles sin miedo a la superstición. Ciudad de Guatemala: Catafixia ed., 2013
Nardoni, Valerio (Ed. y Trad. Al italiano). “Otti Giovani Poeti Spagnoli”. Poesia. Mensile Internazionales di cultura poética. [Milán, Italia]. [Se espera para la primavera del 2013]
de la Torre, Mónica, and Cristián Gómez. Malditos latinos Malditos sudacas. Poesía Iberoamericana Made in USA. Mexico: El Billar de Lucrecia, 2010.
Espinosa, Julio (ed.) Palabra sobre palabra. Antología de joven poesía española. Santiago de Chile: Ed. Santiago Inédito, 2010.
Smith-Soto, Mark (ed.) The Spanish/Latino Issue (International Poetry Review 34). Spring 2008.
Cinco poemas experimentales. Alonso, Julián (ed.). Todos o casi todos. Antología de poesía visual, experimental y mail-art en España. CD-ROM. Plasencia: Cero a la Izquierda. 2004
Title: Professor, Spanish
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures
Email address: Email me
Phone: (828) 262-2306