Xabier de Lizardi

Xabier Lizardi, or José María Aguirre Egaña (1896–1933) was a Spanish poet and writer in the Basque language. He was the main representative of pre-war Basque literature. His Symbolist aesthetic has elicited comparisons with the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez. Aguirre signed with the pseudonym Xabier Lizardi by which he is known, although he also signed with those of Zarauztar Sabin and Samaiko Zulo. His scarce work, focused mainly on only two books, Biotz-begietan ('In the heart and in the eye's) written in 1932 and the posthumous anthology Umezurtz-olerkiak ('Orphan Poems') published in 1934, in which he captures an intimate type of poetry. His work marks the transition from Romanticism to Symbolism in Basque literature.