The writer Raúl Enrique Asencio Navarro (Alicante, 1993) has won the 21st Gerardo Diego International Prize for literary research for his work 'Waiting. The poetry of José Jiménez Lozano'. The award celebrates the vitality of research dedicated to contemporary Spanish poetry and is convened by the Gerardo Diego Foundation, the Government of Cantabria (through the Ministry of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports) and the Santander City Council.

The jury, made up of Francisco Javier Díez de Revenga, Pilar Palomo Vázquez, Rosa Navarro Durán, Antonio Sánchez Trigueros and José Luis Bernal Salgado, highlighted the enjoyment in reading Asencio Navarro: «Exciting. It shows a deep knowledge of the author, very careful and well written, perfectly interweaves the analysis of Jiménez Lozano's poetry with the rest of his work.

It goes beyond academic work, it is a calm and mature essay. We thought we were dealing with an older writer, because he shows great maturity in writing. It is a work of great literary quality that, moreover, exactly responds to the purpose of the prize: to shed light on less studied aspects and authors. This essay reveals the poetic significance of Jiménez Lozano, without isolating him from the rest of his work and from the poets around him».

The winning essays to date make up a large set, varied in themes and approaches, on contemporary Spanish poetry. They make up a historical journey that goes from the avant-gardes, through the generation of 27, the Spanish exile, the post-war, to the younger generations of the turn of the century. They also explore the relationships of poetry with other disciplines such as cinema, music or philosophy. The research work 'Awaiting. The poetry of José Jiménez Lozano', will be published by the Pre-Textos publishing house before the end of the year.