Xaviel Vilareyo

Xaviel Vilareyo y Villamil is an Asturian writer born in Mieres del Camín in the Province of Asturies, Spain in the year 1967. He belongs to the Asturian literary group of the 1990s.

Education

He graduated in Law from Uviéu University and, also a piano professor, became a high school teacher of music in Madrid, Spain.

A teacher of the Asturian language, Vilareyo developed the first organized courses of Asturian outside of Asturies, in Madrid in the year 2001.

Poetry

Vilareyo's first book of poetry, "Cróniques del recuerdu", written in the Asturian national language, secured his first public award in 1995.

His activity within the Asturian language and culture increased after 1995 with other poetry and narrative awards, such as the Valentin Andrés Literature Prize and the Vila de Sarria Poetry Prize in 1997, the Xeira Award in 1998, and the Elvira Castañón Poetry Award in 1999, among others. He has published literary work in many Asturian and Spanish magazines such as "Pretexto"," Lletres Asturianes", "Reloj de arena", "Sietestrellu", "Lliteratura", "El signo del gorrión", "Isla Desnuda", "Calicanto", "Estío", "Texturas", and many others and also became essayist in several other publications such as "El canciu'l Cuélebre", "Lletres asturianes", "Entrambasauguas" or "Asturies memoria encesa", always concerning the Asturian national language, culture and history.

His other books of poetry include "Más que probable" (1998), "Os novos poemas" (1999), and "El camín d'inquietú" (2002). He has as well authored a book of Asturian tales, "La causa más probable" (2006), and a modern Method of Asturian Language. He also appears in several anthologies of asturian literature such as "Muestra de nueva poesía" (1998), "Cinco años de lliteratura asturiana" (1999), "Na boca de todos" (2006) and "Unde lletras falan" (2006).

He was organizer of the Xunta d'Escritores Asturianos (Asturian Writers Council) in Uviéu in 2005.

He is also founder and administrator of the Festival de Cine Asturianu (Asturian Film Festival) since the year 2005, promoting the Asturian national cinema.