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Madrid (dpa) - Spanish poet Antonio Gamoneda, 75, was Thursday awarded the Cervantes Prize, regarded as the literature Nobel of the Spanish-speaking world, Culture Minister Carmen Calvo announced.
Gamoneda's poetry was "loaded with symbolism" capable of giving a meaning to words, the jury said. The Cervantes Prize is worth about 90,000 euros (118,000 dollars).
Born the son of a modernist poet in the northern city of Oviedo, Antonio Gamoneda grew up in a poor environment and later worked as a bank messenger.
His work is marked by the early death of his father, the 1936-39 Civil War and political repression during the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. He joined the resistance and one of his works was banned by the regime.
Gamoneda's work is characterized by its strength, clarity and contempt for trends. He once defined poetry as "an emanation of an existential nature which expresses suffering and pleasure."
Gamoneda published his first volume of poetry in 1960. He has won several literature awards, including the National Poetry Prize for "Edad" (Age) in 1987.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
