Federico Garcia Lorca

More has been written about Lorca (1898-1936) than about any other Spanish writer except Cervantes, but this detailed biography--originally published in Spanish in two volumes (1985, 1987) and based on hundreds of interviews and on hitherto unavailable manuscripts and letters--is the major work on the great Andalusian poet and playwright. Gibson, literary historian, explores the hidden, tormented side of Lorca's character, but because family and friends were unwilling to discuss or even acknowledge his homosexuality, much remains unrevealed. Too often, Gibson relies on ``must have'' and ``might have.'' He explores Lorca's background, schooling, affairs, loves and friendships (with Bunuel, Dali, Falla and Neruda, among others), his trips to New York, Cuba and Argentina, his involvement with the Popular Front, his fascination with and terror of death and, most important of all, the development of his creative work in poetry, prose, drama, music, folklore and painting. The last chapter is given over to details of Lorca's death by shooting by Nationalist thugs, a subject to which Gibson has devoted a prize-winning book, The Assassination of Federico Garcia Lorca. Photos. (Oct.)