Jaime Gil de Biedma

In 1975, Jaime Gil de Biedma compiled his poetry under the title Persons of the Verb, a volume that included his three books—Compañeros de viaje, Moralidades, and Poemas póstumos—revised and reordered for the occasion. In 1982, he published a second, expanded edition, adding the few poems he had written since.

Though the author considered this to definitively establish the corpus of his poetry, it is only now, fifty years after its first publication, that we can truly say the complete poetic works of Gil de Biedma are fully captured in a single volume. This has been made possible thanks to Andreu Jaume’s extensive research into the author’s archive.

This edition features a foreword by Andreu Jaume and two previously unpublished texts by the poet. Persons of the Verb has already earned its place as a classic of 20th-century Spanish poetry, celebrated for its pursuit of perfection, transparent complexity, sharp insight, and evocative, meditative power. This edition further underscores the enduring relevance of Gil de Biedma’s poetic vision.

"His simple, direct poetry touches the heart. Gil de Biedma is a poet for everyone. He reminds you of the importance of life, stripped of any attributes beyond itself."—Manuel Vilas

"He made his literature an act of rejecting hypocrisy and affirming truth against falsehood."—Luis García Montero

"One of the great icons of our poetry and one of my favourite poets. His poetic prose, with its overwhelming brilliance and tenderness, transformed the concept of traditional poetry. [...] I’d like to think his poetry is eternal, and Persons of the Verb is a book not to be missed."—Joaquín Sabina

"Jaime Gil de Biedma incorporated a range of distinctive traits into his work: the peculiar intensity of his tone, his assimilation of a cultural tradition broader than the strictly Hispanic, and his meticulous formal perfection."—El País

"Like all writers who have touched the intimate fiber of their readers, each person has their own Gil de Biedma."—La Vanguardia

"Few poets have exerted as powerful an influence as Jaime Gil de Biedma. [...] His concise, penetrating body of work continues to inspire new and young readers."—Javier Ors, La Razón

"He possessed a sharp intellect, was seductive, elegant with an Anglo-Saxon touch, a great conversationalist, deeply cultured, with a prodigious memory; he was brilliant, sensitive, tender, multilingual, cosmopolitan, and endlessly curious."—Rosa Mora, El País

"Poems in which nothing is missing and nothing is superfluous."—Carme Riera, La Vanguardia

"An essential poet."—El Español

"His life was not an easy one, but he remained true to himself, to his verses, and to his friends."—José-Carlos Mainer, Babelia, El País