Ramón J. Sender

Ramón José Sender Garcés (3 February 1901 – 16 January 1982) was a Spanish novelist, essayist and journalist. Several of his works were translated into English by the distinguished zoologist, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, including Seven Red Sundays (Siete domingos rojos), Mr Witt Among the Rebels (Mr Witt en el cantón) and The War in Spain (Contraataque). He published articles in the Valencia-based Orto magazine between 1932 and 1934. During the Spanish Civil War Sender was among the contributors of El Mono Azul, a Republican literary magazine.

The Civil War had a profound and lasting impact on Sender. He served as an officer in the Spanish Republican Army, and the nationalists killed his wife – Amparo Barayón. His work Contraataque was based on his military experience and aimed to garner support for the Republicans.

Following Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War, Sender went into exile, first settling in Mexico before moving to the United States, where he became a U.S. citizen in 1946. In the United States, he built a long career as a professor of Spanish literature at various universities, primarily in Albuquerque and San Diego.

He temporarily returned to Spain when Franco was on his deathbed, and his return caused a stir in his homeland. However, the permanent residence in Spain, which Sender had longed for and spoken so much about, never came to fruition. In 2018, director Luis Olano released the film Sender Barayón: Un Viaje Hacia La Luz (A Trip into the Light), dedicated to the life of Ramón Sender Barayón.

Andrea Sender Barayon, the daughter of Amparo Barayon and Ramón J. Sender, eventually became an Anglican nun under the name Sister Benedicta.

One of Sender's several grandchildren is Sol Sender, a designer best known for his work on the Obama campaign logo.

Publications In Spanish Imán (1930) Siete domingos rojos (1932) Mr. Witt en el cantón (1935) Contraataque (1937) El lugar de un hombre (1939) Mexicayotl (1940) Crónica del alba (1942) La esfera (1947) El rey y la reina (1949) (Originally published in 1948 in English) El verdugo afable (1952) Mosén Millán (1953) (republished later in 1960 renamed as Requiem por un campesino español) Bizancio (1956) La tesis de Nancy (1962) El bandido adolescente (1965) La aventura equinoccial de Lope de Aguirre (1968)

In English translation Earmarked for Hell (1934, England); original Spanish: Imán Pro Patria (1935, U.S.); original Spanish: Imán Mr. Witt Among the Rebels (1937); original Spanish: Mr. Witt en el cantón Seven Red Sundays (1938); original Spanish: Siete domingos rojos The War in Spain: A Personal Narrative (1937); original Spanish: Contraataque Chronicle of Dawn (1945); original Spanish: Crónica del alba The King and the Queen (1948) Requiem for a Spanish Peasant (1960); original Spanish: Requiem por un campesino español The Affable Hangman (1964); original Spanish: El verdugo afable