Poveda´s written work allows us to know not only his person but also the social reality of his time. His style was deliberately simple, as it befits the transparency of his literary work.
The literary genre he used, reflecting his personality, are, in chronological order, as follow: letters (1902), meditations (1908), maxims (1909), essays (1911) and articles (1911).
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He combines simplicity and richness of thought. His language is precise, characteristic of a man concerned with essentials and in continuous dealings with human problems. All his writings are prompted by his desire to evangelize and they reflect his solid criteria. His affirmations are seriously formulated affirmations. His topics are as varied as the current problems of his society, of education, of life in general and of Christian living; they also include those tedious daily business of bills to be paid, contacts to be made, decisions to be taken.
In his writings from Covadonga, in 1911, he analyzes the situation of the educational and teaching conditions in Spain and he considers the matter a social and Christian task that must be open to the new needs of society and that must be carried out with the most excellent pedagogical methods. For this purpose he is determined to rally the forces of good, the organizations with similar objectives. He accepts the irreversible control of the State in educational matters; he values the role of teachers and seeks to promote their professional preparation, convinced that a school will always be what its teachers are and, thus, he feels that the moment for action has arrived.
His ideas are published in his first pamphlets: Essay on Pedagogical Projects (1911), Diary of a Foundation (1912), and A Pedagogical Simulation (1912). In this same line are his articles published in the news media and which later on were gathered and published together in a pamphlet entitled Around a Project (1913), also belongs here his speech at the opening session of the academic year 1914-15, at the Seminary in Jaén, under the title of The Study of Pedagogy in Seminaries (1914). Following the custom of the beginning of the twentieth century, he makes use of leaflets and pamphlets as the means to make his ideas known. His prose, vibrant, vigorous, engaging, has merited to be the object of diverse studies by educators like Galino, Asís, González and Sanz Diego.
His first spiritual publications date also from the time of his stay in Covadonga: A Visit to La Santina (1909), On The Profit of The Soul (1909), The Voice of The Beloved (1910), Plan for Life (1909), and For The Children (1910).
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These writings are characterized by their concision and brevity. Rather than complete studies, they are vigorous strokes of his pen and his spiritual profile. The richness of his ideas frequently takes on the form of maxims and thoughts. On The Profit of The Soul, For The Children, and even his Plan for Life are ascetical treatises elaborated upon the basis of a central idea that gives unity to each chapter.
Sometimes, his meditations also appear published as pamphlets. An instance is his Paraphrase of the Anima Christi (1935). At other times they appear on leaflets. His collection of maxims is presented at a later period under the title of Spiritual Advises of Saint Teresa of Jesus (1918).
While his meditations show predominantly his responsibility as founder of the Teresian Association, especially those of 1920 published under the title of Jesus Teacher of Prayer, in his letters his unmistakable paternal vein shines off dealing with topics as varied as life itself.
Daily events enter his letters with simple expressions that are permeated with a Christian sense. He writes under he pressure of time and of other business. At times he lets his sense of humor come through, filled with Andalusian grace, and without trivializing the matter, he has the art of lightening up an event, a problem or a circumstance. At other times, when he writes pointing out spiritual goals, his prose flows with serenity and with the style of classic harmony
To these brief spiritual writings we can apply the words of Menéndez Pelayo in his preface to On The Profit of The Soul: “It is, so to speak, a compendium of many volumes”. Referring to his style he wrote to Don Pedro in a letter dated August 3rd of 1909: “One of the things that have called my attention most in this brief treatise is the purity of its language”.
The diversity of genre used helps the reader to know the different facets of its author. His letters reveal his gift as communicator; his essays, his involvement in the society of his time; his meditations unveil for us the man of God and his maxims his human spirit. All these perspectives offer the reader a varied light of the message he felt called to transmit as a writer.