Galician poet Ismael Ramos, born in A Coruña in 1994, has been recognized with the National Award, a distinction presented this Friday by the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The prize carries a sum of €20,000 and marks a notable moment in contemporary Galician letters, highlighting Ramos as a leading voice whose work continues to resonate across Europe and beyond. The jury emphasized the power of his poetic imagination, noting how his work for the piece Lixeiro develops a compelling generation song that balances irony with nostalgia and a subtle sense of disappointment, tempered by a hopeful projection. [Cited from the Ministry of Culture and Sports]
According to the jury, Ramos stands out for the depth and clarity of his artistic vision. He is described as a fine connoisseur of the contemporary poetic tradition, offering a proposal that remains unpretentious yet linguistically refined. This combination, the adjudicators say, creates an epic feeling that is both transcendent and vividly experiential. The recognition underlines a style that remains intimate and accessible while pushing the boundaries of form and rhythm. [Cited from the Ministry of Culture and Sports]
Ramos’s poetry has achieved broad international reach, with translations into Catalan, Finnish, French, Hungarian, English, and Portuguese. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, underscoring his growing influence in the global literary scene. The award underscores how his poems travel across languages while preserving their distinctive voice and musicality. [Cited from the Ministry of Culture and Sports]
Among his celebrated works are Os fillos da fame, for which he won the XVII Johán Carballeira Prize for Xerais Poetry in 2016; Lume and Lixeiro. In 2019, La Bella in Warsaw published the first Spanish translation of his work Fuegos, a milestone that earned him the Javier Morote Award in 2020. These milestones illustrate a trajectory of steady growth and international recognition, reinforcing Ramos’s status as a significant contemporary poet in Galicia and the wider Iberian and European literary communities. [Cited from the Ministry of Culture and Sports]