Uxío Novoneyra

• Born: Parada de Moreda (Folgoso do Courel), 1930
• Died: Santiago de Compostela, 1999
• Notable works:
  • Os Eidos (1955)
  • Elegías del Courel y otros poemas (1967)
  • Os Eidos II (1974)
  • Poemas caligráficos (1979)
  • Muller para lonxe (1986)
  • Do Courel a Compostela (1988)
  • Poemas de doada certeza i este brillo premido entre as palabras (1994)
  • Arrodeos e desvíos do Camiño de Santiago e outras rutas (1999)
• Profession: poet, radio and television broadcaster, reciter
• Honored on the Day of Galician Letters 2010:
  • Crier of the 1st edition of the Feira do Viño de Quiroga (11-11-1980)

His name has been given to eighteen streets, the CPI schools of Folgoso do Courel and of Pedrafita do Cebreiro, the libraries of Vilaboa (Culleredo), and the Monte Alto High School

His work encompasses various poetic lines: landscape, social issues, love, and existential poetry, always deeply rooted in his homeland. His verses express a strong nationalist spirit and a forward-thinking ecological awareness.

The rugged peaks of Formigueiros, Montouto, and O Pía Paxaro define a landscape of chestnut forests, meadows, ‘eidos’ (small farms), valleys, springs, streams, wolves, and eagles, with local place names enhancing its natural beauty.

Formally, his work is distinguished by its graphic and visual symbolism (calligrams), its concise, essential style, and the sonorous richness of the oral language of O Courel.

Quiroga, beyond being a shared geographical space within the vast Serra do Courel, was for Novoneyra a familiar place during his travels. It was at Quiroga — at the historic El Derroche store — where he would wait for the bus that connected him to the rest of Galicia.

Quiroga is also celebrated for its excellent wines, a fact Novoneyra famously captured with his declaration: “Quiroga é un viño” (“Quiroga is a wine”).

Today, his birthplace, the Casa da Fonte in Parada, houses the Uxío Novoneyra Foundation — a combination of personal museum and cultural centre. It hosts the annual Festival dos Eidos each summer and serves as a retreat for poets in residence.

Courel dos tesos cumes que ollan de lonxe!
Eiquí síntese ben o pouco que é un home…
(Os Eidos. Libro do Courel)

Courel of the firm peaks gazing from afar!
Here one truly feels how small a man is…
(Os Eidos. Libro do Courel)

Lugo Madrid e Compostela
son cada unha a miña cidade
e Quiroga e Monforte a miña vila
I esta máis sin afán de distinguila
polo grande corro de amistade.
(Arrodeos)

Lugo, Madrid, and Compostela
are each my city,
and Quiroga and Monforte my towns —
this one (Quiroga) even more so,
because of the great circle of friendship it holds.
(Arrodeos)