Aurora was honored with a National Award for Poetry, following a Thursday jury session that recognized the work A Finite Number of Summers, linked to the year 2022. The Ministry of Culture and Sports presented the prize, including a reward of 20,000 euros. The jury lauded the collection for its exciting, demanding, and transparent lyrical depth, framing the author’s distinctive voice as among the foremost poets of the era. The work is described as a book of joys, celebrating beauty, language, desire, and life itself. It is portrayed as a love song to the Mediterranean and Greek tradition, one that surveys the universe from the past to illuminate the present, using heritage and forms from Antiquity to interpret today. “It is a classic mosaic that we preserve today and that returns us to the past,” the jury noted.
Aurora Luque (born in Almería in 1962) is a poet, narrator, and translator who earned a PhD in Classical Philology from the University of Granada. Her career spans teaching Greek, writing as a columnist, editorial work, and cultural management. She led the Generación del 27 Center from 2008 to 2011 and founded and directed the Cuadernos de Trinacria poetry collection. In collaboration with Jesús Aguado, she helped shape the MaRemoto poetry collection for CEDMA, inspired by other cultures. In 2005 she founded the Narila publishing house. Her involvement extends to advisory roles with the Puerta del Mar collection and CEDMA, as well as serving on the governing council of Málaga City Council’s Book Institute and the Social Council of the University of Málaga. She is also part of the research group on Translation, Literature and Society at the University of Málaga. Her poetry has appeared in magazines such as Barcarola, Turia, Clarín, Ficciones, and Zurgai.
A handful of awards
Luque stands out in the field for a prolific body of work that includes several notable titles. Among them is the Loewe Award in 2019, Orinque in 2017, Narila Haiku Port in 2017, Processed Lemons Mediterranean Poems in 2016, and the 2016 Critical Situation Award for works exploring personal and political themes (2015). Other acclaimed volumes include Flanders Notebook (2015), Epicurus’ Candy (2008), which earned a Generation Award, Haiku by Narilla (2005), Companions of Icarus (2003), Temporary (1998), and recognition from the Andalusian Critics. The collection Hornbeam Night (1994) is also noted, along with the Federico García Lorca Award from the University of Granada in 1982. The awards also encompassed the Fray Luis de León recognition for companions of Icarus. Luque has been a finalist in the City of Melilla International Poetry Award (1992) and received the Andalusian Radio and Television Public Award in Literature (2016).
In addition to composing poetry, Luque has translated ancient and modern French, Latin, and Greek verse. Her translations cover surviving lyric from classical antiquity and a range of modern European poets. Selected translations include Sappho parts A. Carson (2019) and That’s Sea Life in Greek Poetry (2015); Sonnets and Elegies by Louise Labé (2011); poetry by Renée Vivien (2007); Poems and References from Sappho (2004); and The Dice of Eros, a Greek erotic poetry anthology (2000).