Jose Luis Blanco Vega

Jose Luis Blanco Vega (Mieres, 22 July 1928–A Corunna, 25 January 2005) was a Jesuit, professor, writer, poet,^[1] and film critic from Asturias, Spain.^[2]

Career

He joined the Society of Jesus at the age of 22 and remained a member until his death. He earned a degree in Philosophy from the Comillas Pontifical University^[3] and then he studied novitiate in Salamanca. In 1958, he moved to Granada to study theology.^[4]

Under the mentorship of biblical scholar Luis Alonso Schökel, he became a professor of literature and cinema,^[5] contributing significantly to both fields. He wrote articles and works on the relationship between cinema and education, such as Cinema in the Classroom^[6] and Cinema Stories: Learning to See.^[7] He was a regular contributor to the magazines Estría,^[8] Jesuits,^[9] and Review of Literature, Art, and Shows (Review),^[10] and was the founder of the educational journal Parents and Teachers^[11] and the annual Cinema to Read.^[12]

As a translator from Italian, he is known for translating Virgilio Fantuzzi's monograph Pier Paolo Pasolini.^[13]

Critic Tomas Yerro^[14][15] included Blanco Vega in the literary movement New Mester of Clergy, proposed by Florencio Martínez Ruiz,^[16] which grouped poets writing in Spanish from the second half of the 20th century.

His poems remained unpublished until 1997.^[17][18] He also wrote liturgical hymns.^[19][20]

Works

• The Snail: Activities Guide (1982)^[21][22]
• Abraham and the Stars (1985)
• The Ballad of Ruth (1985)
• Moses, the Liberator (1986)
• Literary Style: Art and Craft (1995; co-authored with Luis Alonso Schökel and Francisco Pérez Gutiérrez)^[23][24]
• And I Have Love for the Visible (1997)^[25]