«Cuando la vida es más grande que la filología»: sobre la correspondencia entre Américo Castro y José Jiménez Lozano

This study examines the correspondence between José Jiménez Lozano (Langa 1930-Valladolid 2020) and Américo Castro (Cantagalo 1885-Lloret de Mar 1972), consisting of thirty-four letters. Through contextual and thematic analysis, the main discursive axes of the epistolary exchange are identified, and a classification into three categories is proposed: intellectual, private, and intimate letters. The study reveals the presence of sermo cotidianus, which links some letters to the tradition of the familiar epistle characteristic of Antiquity and the Renaissance. Likewise, the role of the epistolary text as a testimony to Jiménez Lozano’s writing transition is explored. During the analyzed period, the author evolved from journalism to reflective and essayistic writing, eventually consolidating his career in fictional literature. In this sense, the letters function as epitexts of his early narrative works, offering interpretative insights into his literary development.