Pring-Mill, Robert D.F. 1924–2005

(Robert Deguid Forrest Pring-Mill)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born September 11, 1924, in Stapleford Tawney, Essex, England; died October 6, 2005, in Oxford, England. Educator and author. Pring-Mill was a recognized authority on the literature of Spain who was acclaimed for bringing the poetry of Pablo Neruda to academic attention. Having spent part of his childhood in Spain, he gained an affinity for that country's language and culture at an early age. However, his family retreated back to England with the onset of World War II, and Pring-Mill enlisted in the British Army when he was just seventeen. He served as an intelligence officer in India, Burma, and Malaya, then returned home to study modern languages at New College, Oxford. He earned his master's degree there in 1953, and spent his academic career at Oxford. Serving as University Lecturer in Spanish from 1952 to 1988, he was also a lecturer at New College and Exeter and a fellow and tutor at St. Catherine's College. After retiring as a lecturer, he continued his post as fellow of St. Catherine's until 2005. Pring-Mill wrote on and researched the literature and philosophy of Spain throughout its history, but was particularly noted for his expertise on the sixteenth and seventeenth century. His interests also extended to Latin America, where he had traveled extensively and become familiar with its literature. He was particularly enamored by the poetry of Neruda, who would go on to win a Nobel prize in 1971. Pring-Mill's papers about and translations of Neruda's work helped make the poet an internationally acclaimed writer and are credited as the reason why Neruda was given an honorary D.Litt. from Oxford University. In addition to Neruda, Pring-Mill also wrote about Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal, among others. For his many scholarly accomplishments, Pring-Mill was honored both in his country and abroad. He was named a fellow of the British Academy in 1988, appointed a comendador of the Orden de Isabel la Catolica in 1990, was honored by the government of Chile in 1992 when he was named an officer of the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins, and in 2004 was presented with Chile's presidential medal of honor. Other prizes include the 1956 Premi Pompeu Fabra, the 1979 Premi Citat de Palma, the 1990 Cross of St. George of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the 1991 Premi Catalynia. Among his many publications are Lope de Vega: Five Plays (1961), Neruda: A Basic Anthology (1975), The Scope of Spanish-American Committed Poetry (1977), Gracias a la vida: The Power and Poetry of Song (1990), Estudis sobre Ramon Llull (1991), which won the Premi Crítica Serra d'Or, and A Poet for All Seasons (1993).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), October 15, 2005, p. 47.

Times (London, England), November 3, 2005, p. 66.