Catalan Literature After the Spanish Civil War: A Literary Renaissance
Literature of the War
Since 1950, the novel and the short story regained the importance they held before the Spanish Civil War. The main literary trends are:
Main Literary Trends
- The Psychological Novel: This genre focuses on the analysis of the inner world and the moral life of a character. The most notable representative is Mercè Rodoreda.
- Realist Novel: This genre denounces the realities of the time. The main representatives are Manuel de Villalonga and Pedrolo.
Outside of this classification, it’s also important to mention Josep Pla and Pere Calders.
Prominent Catalan Authors
Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1894-1924)
A self-taught poet, Joan Salvat-Papasseit is one of the leading representatives of the avant-garde movement in Catalonia. He began writing articles on literature in Spanish Art Nouveau and was interested in socialist, anarchist, and nationalist ideas. His first book, Poems on Hertzian Waves, and The Gulls and the Harbor Irradiador, incorporate elements of:
- Cubism: Broken syntax, incorporating visual elements.
- Futurism: Exaltation of the machine, word freedom, using different fonts.
Later, he abandoned avant-garde poetic techniques to create a more personal and intimate style.
Josep Maria de Sagarra
Josep Maria de Sagarra achieved success as a poet and playwright before venturing into novels, becoming one of the most comprehensive Catalan writers of the twentieth century. His extraordinary command of language is reflected in all three genres.
Sagarra’s novelistic trajectory began in 1919 with Paulina Buxareu, which sought to fill the void of works in this genre. Ten years later, he published Garlic Salt, which presents the problems that a lack of religious vocation creates for the protagonist, a young seminarian, when he falls in love with a young woman. In 1932, he published Private Life. Also noteworthy are his collections of newspaper articles such as Coffee, Drink, and Cigar (1929), Memoirs (1954), and The Blue Route (1964).
Josep Vicenç Foix
Josep Vicenç Foix was a figure who contributed decisively to a more diffuse avant-garde art. In addition to promoting the avant-garde, Foix wrote prose narratives that attempt to reproduce the free flow of dreams. These books reveal the influence of several avant-garde movements, especially Surrealism. Foix later evolved toward a position away from the aesthetic orthodoxy of the avant-garde, without abandoning his spirit of compromise and quest for modernity.
Tomàs Garcés (1901-1993)
Tomàs Garcés was a lawyer, poet, translator, and literary critic. From 1919, he worked in numerous newspapers and magazines, and during the dictatorship, he continued to participate in cultural activities. His poetic work, very extensive, is based on symbolism and pure poetry. While it exhibits an intellectual flow like Carles Riba’s work, it also draws on popular sources. With great attention to formal aspects and deep lyricism, Garcés explores classical themes: nature, melancholy, longing, and the transience of life. His first collection, which brought him recognition, is Twenty Songs.
Carles Riba (1893-1959)
Carles Riba is a central figure in the intellectual, literary, and political landscape of Catalonia in the twentieth century. Professor, poet, translator, critic, prose writer—he excelled in all fields. Loyal to the Republic, he was forced into exile after the war but returned in 1943. Back in Catalonia, he remained faithful to his principles and national politics. Although the conditions were very adverse, Riba played an important role in the intellectual and artistic culture of the time and became a master for the later generation of writers.
As a poet, he followed the post-symbolist current, which evolved into pure poetry. His work shows a formal perfection. His most important collections are: First Book of Stays, Second Book of Stays, Elegies of Bierville, and Savage Heart.
Other Notable Authors
Pere Calders
Pere Calders was born in Barcelona and graduated in Fine Arts. He quickly gained recognition as a writer. He worked in newspapers and magazines but fled to Mexico, returning after 1960. He is known for his stories and short stories, characterized by diverse themes and simple language.
Mercè Rodoreda
Mercè Rodoreda is considered the best storyteller in contemporary Catalan literature. Born in Barcelona, where she lived until 1939, she went into exile in France and Switzerland. Throughout her life, she worked in magazines and newspapers and wrote several novels, the most important being: Broken Mirror, The Time of the Doves, and Aloma.
The characteristics of her works are:
- An exploration of the inner world of characters and their perspective towards the reality that surrounds them.
- The protagonists of her novels are always women, who talk about their relationships and the passage of time.
- The use of symbolic elements (jewelry, mirrors, pigeons).
Joaquim Amat-Piniella
Joaquim Amat-Piniella was born in Manresa and worked in the realist novel genre, in addition to short stories and poetry. During the Second Republic, he worked in newspapers and magazines and participated in political activities. During the war, he fought against the fascists in Andalusia and was later imprisoned in French camps, finally ending up at Mauthausen, the Nazi extermination camp. The result of this experience is his novel K. L. Reich, which he wrote in 1945 in Andorra. It recounts the experiences of a Catalan deported to this camp and is a particularly poignant testimony to the horrors of the camp and the capacity for human destruction, while also highlighting the resilience of the human spirit and the hope for the defeat of fascist barbarism.
The Vanguard Movements
The Vanguard movements emerged during the First World War, fighting to renew art and literature by creating new forms of expression. They manifested in various movements or”ism”:
- Futurism: Celebrates progress and proclaims word freedom.
- Cubism: Finds its literary manifestation in the calligram.
- Dadaism: Rebels against the world by denying art and culture.
- Surrealism: Based on psychoanalytic theory to explore new avenues of artistic expression.