Today on My Poetic Side we look at the house linked to Keats that is for sale, and the winner of this year”s Cervantes Prize.

Shanklin House With Links to Poet for Sale

It would seem to be the time of year for properties with links to poets to be going onto the property market. Keats Cottage on the Isle of Wight is up for sale.

The property features a stunning seven bedrooms, and is currently being used as a bed and breakfast. It is located in Shanklin Old Village.

The poet John Keats stayed in the property during the summer of 1819, when it was called Egaltine Cottage, and it was during his time here that he penned many of his poems. The current owners of the property have a readily available supply of his poetry as well as that written by other romantic poets like Byron, Tennyson, Blake, Wilde, and Shelley – all of whom have rooms named after them in the property.

The building itself is over 400 years old and has been lovingly refurbished. Its links with the poet and reputation as an established business make it a very good prospect, according to the agents who are responsible for putting it on the market.

2020 Cervantes Prize

Francisco Brines, the Spanish poet, has been announced as the winner of this year”s Cervantes Prize. The prize is considered to be the most important award for a work of poetry in the Spanish language.

Brines was chosen as the winner by a majority of the jury, who felt that his work as an intimate poet of what is known as the 50s generation had looked the most into the human experience that is associated with memory, ageing and the vital exaltation. They believe that he is one of the current masters of poetry in the Spanish language.

The poet was born in 1932 in Valencia. He studied at the Jesuits of Valencia for his baccalaureate and then went on to study law at Deusto, Valencia and then Salamanca where he eventually graduated. As well as writing poetry, he has also penned a collection of essays titled “Writings on Spanish Poetry”.

The Cervantes Prize carries a cash award of 125,000 euros. It is an annual award that was first presented to a Spanish language writer in 1975. The announcement is made towards the end of the year and the prize is awarded on 23^rd April the date that Miguel de Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, and William Shakespeare all died on. The date is also referred to as Book Day.

The winner of the prize last year was Joan Margarit. Unfortunately, the award ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic. The winner in 2018 was Ida Vitale a poet from Uruguay. Both of these previous winners sat on this year’s panel of judges.

Since the prize was first awarded in 1975 there have only been 5 female winners, in 1979 the judges were unable to separate two of the contenders for the prize and it was awarded jointly to Gerardo Diego and Jorge Luis Borges.