Miguel Anxo Mato Fondo

Category: Writer and professor
Birth Date: 29th April 1953
Birth Place: Ponteceso (A Coruña)
 Curriculum

Since he was a child, he liked poetry very much, especially poetry by Eduardo Pondal. In 1969, he moved to A Coruña, where he studied Secondary Education and the first years at University. He took a degree in Hispanic Philology at Santiago University. In 1980, he started to work as Galician Language and Literature teacher in Sarria. In 1983, he worked at 'Menéndez Pidal' Secondary School in A Coruña. Nowadays, he is working at 'Rafael Dieste' Secondary Education in A Coruña.

 Work & Activities

In 1984, he met the poets that published the collective book De Amor y Desamor. He collaborated with them in many poetry readings and lectures. Some years before, in 1977, he had already published his first poems in a collective book titled Alén together with X. R. Pena and P. Salinas. He has published two essay books: A mazá e a cinza (1991), about present-day Galician poetry and A Escrita da terra (1998), which won the first essay prize 'Espiral Maior'. He also worked for the Galician Sociopedagogical Association, 'Vía Láctea' and 'Bahía' Publications. He made scripts for video films, especially about the poets Cunqueiro, Luis Pimentel and Pondal and wrote essays in specialised magazines about Literature in the 20th century. Nowadays, he is preparing a study on the poetry work by Manuel María. In march 2004 he was awarded Fiz Vergara Vilariño Poetry Prize for his work O Whisky na barrica.

 Other Interesting Aspects

Hobbies: -Hunting (he has personal files about hunting Literature). -Music (blues, jazz and the composers Grieg, Rachmarinov and Bela Bartok). -Modern and romantic painting (G. D. Friedrich, Munch, Mondrian and Hopper). -He is also interested in scientific development in the field of nature and human genes.