Graciela Palau de Nemes is one of the critics of the works of the Nobel laureate poet Juan Ramón Jiménez as well as of Spanish and Latin American literature, in general.
Her academic contributions to the criticism of poetry and poetics, modernismo, memoirs, and the epistolary genre have been recognized both nationally and internationally. As a pioneer of and guiding force for the teaching of language at the University of Maryland, Dr. Nemes is a symbol of the contributions of Latin American women to the intellectual development of the Humanities at Maryland.
Dr. Nemes came to the University of Maryland in 1946 where she met Juan Ramón Jiménez. The poet and his wife, Zenobia Camprubí, taught at the University from 1943 to 1951. Jiménez then became Dr. Nemes’ unofficial mentor while she undertook language teaching and pursued her master’s and doctoral degrees. Dr. Nemes finished her dissertation and graduated in 1952 and this marked the beginning of her illustrious career. It was Dr. Nemes who later nominated the poet for the Nobel Prize in literature, which he won in 1956. She became the major critic of Jiménez’s works and has been recognized as such by subsequent generations who have benefited from her early work. The Juan Ramón Jiménez Foundation in Spain counts her as an honorary member. In 2004, a street in Moguer, Jiménez’s birthplace, was named in her honor. On the 50th anniversary of Jimenéz’s Nobel Prize, Dr. Nemes was invited to speak at no less than eight major conferences dedicated to Juan Ramón Jiménez and Zenobia Camprubí. Dr. Nemes delivered opening and closing plenary lectures throughout Spain: in Madrid, Huelva, Seville, and Moguer. She was one of the participants in the Seminar that took place at the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid and was interviewed by the media. As recent as last spring, she was also invited to a conference and panel presentation centered on Jiménez and New York that took place at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City; she will be traveling to Madrid and Moguer once more during the fall for the closing events of the three year long celebrations (2006, 2007, 2008) planned in honor of Juan Ramón Jiménez.
One of the prizes in the Hispanic World was awarded to Dr. Nemes in 2006; she was honored with the Great Cross of Alfonso X El Sabio. The Order of Alfonso X El Sabio is an honorary Spanish Order, established by Royal Decree on May 23, 1902 to pay tribute to achievements in the fields of education, science, culture, teaching and research. Dr. Nemes joined a long list of scholars, writers, historian, and scientists who have also received this award, among them Mercedes Salisachs, Laín Entralgo, Joaquín Rodrigo and Antonio Domínguez Ortiz. Years before, she had also received the Medalla de Mérito Civil (Medal for Civil Merit) from the Spanish government.