MIRO, GABRIEL

born July 28, 1879, Alicante, Spain died May 27, 1930, Madrid Spanish writer distinguished for the finely wrought but difficult style and rich, imaginative vocabulary of his essays, stories, and novels. Mir studied law at the universities of Granada and Valencia and in 1922 became secretary of the Concursos Nacionales de Letras y Artes in Madrid. His many novels include Nuestro padre San Daniel (1921; Our Father, Saint Daniel) and El obispo leproso (1926; The Leprous Bishop), both of which are critical of religious customs. Among his nonfictional works are Figuras de la pasin del Seor (1916; Figures of the Passion of Our Lord) and a series of books describing the life of his region whose protagonist is Sigenza, Mir's literary alter ego.