Galician Literature in Exile: Franco Era Authors & Works
Galician Literature in Exile
Historical and Political Context
After the Spanish Civil War began a long historical period characterized by the absence of freedom and citizenship rights, whether political, cultural, or religious. Until the 1960s, Spain suffered isolation and economic sanctions imposed by the victorious powers of World War II. This caused an agonizing internal economic situation that encouraged emigration, mainly to Latin American countries. Galicia lived through the years of hunger, and literature in Galician experienced a silence enforced by the harsh repression of figures who had led cultural movements prior to the military uprising. These figures were forced into exile or silence. A significant part of Galician literature would be published or reprinted in Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay.
The authors who developed their activities in exile were, on the one hand, those already established writers who were forced to leave Galicia, such as Castelao or Dieste, and, on the other hand, new authors who began publishing abroad, as detailed below.
Authors and Works
Luís Seoane (Buenos Aires, 1910 – A Coruña, 1979)
- Born in Argentina, he came to Galicia at the age of ten. During the Civil War, he had to return to Argentina due to his Galeguista and left-wing ideology.
- A multi-faceted creator: painter, poet, essayist, and playwright.
- His poetry expresses a social and human commitment to Galicia, focusing on themes such as exile, migration, and social injustice.
Poetic Style
His poetry uses long, free verses without rhyme, achieving rhythm through the repetition of keywords.
Works
- Fardel de Eisilio (1952)
- Na brétema, Sant-Iago (1955)
- As cicatrices (1959)
- A maior abondamento (1972)
Lorenzo Varela (Havana, 1917 – Madrid, 1978)
- His biography parallels that of Luís Seoane, with whom he collaborated closely in Buenos Aires.
- His poetry combines themes conditioned by the author’s experience of Galicia, ranging from social protest to longing for his homeland.
Works
- Catro poemas para catro gravados (1944)
- Lonxe (1954)
Eduardo Blanco Amor (Ourense, 1897 – Vigo, 1979)
- He spent his childhood and youth in his hometown, where he studied and began his literary, journalistic, and intellectual activity, which would be a constant reference in his work.
- In Argentina, he developed intense cultural activity, initially as an emigrant and later as an exile, encompassing narrative, journalism, theatre, lectures, etc.
- In 1965, he returned to Galicia and continued his activities.
- His language starts from popular speech, adapting it to the expressive needs of each work.
Narrative Style and Contribution
Blanco Amor initiated the renovation of the Galician narrative through social realism, characterized by several key features:
- Often uses an urban setting as the framework for events.
- Denounces the living conditions of the less affluent.
- Employs perspectivism, adopting specific points of view.
- Uses language characteristic of the social classes portrayed in the novel.
Narrative Works
A Esmorga (1959)
Published in Buenos Aires, it was censored in Spain until 1970. In the novel, Cibrán, a well-intentioned but weak-willed man, recounts to a judge the events experienced in the company of ‘Bocas’, a strong and violent man, and ‘Milhomes’, a homosexual coward. The three protagonists engage in a 24-hour esmorga (a drunken spree) in the marginal areas of Auria (Ourense), fueled by alcohol and violence, amidst an increasingly unbearable atmosphere that leads to tragedy. The characters are defined by their behavior. The narrative technique is ‘telephonic’, reproducing only Cibrán’s words, never those of the judge or interrogator.
Os biosbardos (1962)
A collection of seven first-person stories, supposedly autobiographical, where the narrator, as a child or adolescent, mixes real problems with imagination and fantasy.
Xente ao lonxe (1972)
Set in early 20th-century Ourense (referred to as ‘X’), it tells the story of a family through multiple narrators and perspectives. Based partly on historical facts, it is an argument in defense of the rights of the disinherited. The main plot frequently pauses for stories led by some of the many characters, all perfectly individualized by their speech patterns.