author
Ramón Gómez de la Serna
1888–1963
A brilliantly original Spanish writer, he turned wit, surprise, and sharp observation into a literary art form. Best known for inventing the greguería, he helped open the door to modern, avant-garde writing in Spanish.
1 Audiobook
La quinta de Palmyra (Novela grande)
by Ramón Gómez de la Serna
About the author
Born in Madrid in 1888, Ramón Gómez de la Serna became one of the most distinctive voices in 20th-century Spanish literature. He wrote across many forms—novels, essays, biographies, journalism, and theater—but he is especially remembered for the greguería, a brief, playful saying that mixes metaphor, humor, and unexpected insight.
His work was bold, inventive, and often delightfully odd, and it had a lasting influence on avant-garde writers in both Europe and Latin America. He is often described as a precursor to surrealism, and his imagination and taste for the unexpected helped reshape what modern prose could do.
Later in life he settled in Buenos Aires, where he died in 1963. Today he remains admired for his originality, his enormous energy as a writer, and his gift for finding something strange and memorable in everyday life.