A Spanish Civil War exile from 1939 until 1984, María Zambrano was a philosopher and essayist that combined civic commitment and poetic thought. A disciple of José Ortega y Gasset, she received the two highest literary awards granted in Spain: the Prince of Asturias Award in 1981, and the Cervantes Award in 1988. Roberta Johnson, Professor Emerita of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at the University of Kansas and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UCLA, introduces us to this major figure in Spanish culture.