Noucentisme and Avant-Garde Movements in Catalan Literature
Noucentisme
Noucentisme was a political and cultural movement in Catalonia from 1906 (1st Congress of the Catalan Language) to 1923 (coup d’etat of Primo de Rivera). It reflected the aspirations of the Catalan bourgeoisie and aimed to create, disseminate, and normalize Catalan culture. More than just a literary movement, Noucentisme was an ideological movement supported by political power. It sought to distance itself from Modernism and emphasized the role of institutions in developing cultural infrastructure (libraries, publishing companies) and standardizing the Catalan language (creation of the IEC in 1911, Pompeu Fabra’s Spelling Standards in 1913).
Noucentisme Aesthetics
Noucentisme championed traditional bourgeois values. It criticized 19th-century aesthetics for lacking naturalness and spontaneity, arguing that poets manipulated language to compensate for deficiencies. Noucentisme poetry is characterized by:
- Intellectual Clarity: The poet’s will is paramount, rejecting spontaneity and excessive emotion. Language should be precise, clear, and intelligible, avoiding vagueness and symbolism.
- Classical Influence: It revived classical features like order, balance, formal rigor, and emotional restraint, drawing inspiration from Greco-Roman tradition.
- Civilian Poetry: It presented an idyllic vision of contemporary society, reflecting the values of the Catalan bourgeoisie and ignoring social and political tensions. Themes included happy life, sensitive characters, and recreations of classical myths.
Josep Carner (1884-1970)
Josep Carner worked in publications like La Veu de Catalunya and was a member of the IEC, contributing to Pompeu Fabra’s Spelling Standards. After the Civil War, he went into exile, living in Mexico and Belgium, where he worked as a university professor. His work includes poetry, prose, drama, and translation, but he is best known for his poetry. The publication of Els Fruits Sabrosos (The Tasty Fruits) is considered the beginning of 20th-century Catalan poetry. Carner’s poetry is classicist, rejecting Romanticism, the self as the center of the poem, and chance. Instead, he emphasizes measure and form. His poetry is characterized by gentle melancholy and lucid irony, and he revives forms like the sonnet. His work can be divided into two periods:
- Noucentisme Period: Beginning with Els Fruits Sabrosos, this period includes books like Auques i Ventalls (Doggerel and Fans).
- Mature Period: This period features more reflective poems, such as those in El Cor Quiet (The Quiet Heart) and Nabí.
Guerau de Liost (1878-1933)
Guerau de Liost was the pseudonym of Jaume Bofill i Mates. He worked for La Veu de Catalunya, was a member of the IEC, and a friend of Josep Carner. In 1908, he published La Muntanya d’Ametistes (The Amethyst Mountain), the first book of an unfinished trilogy and an example of the effort to create a new literary approach based on classical sensibility. His Sàtires (Satires, 1927) ironically depict Catalan society. His poetry aims for a pure and cultured language, with themes like love, nature, and humor.
The Avant-Garde
The avant-garde encompassed diverse art forms with short but intense lifespans. Its characteristics include a desire to break with tradition, experimentation, and rapid dissemination beyond national borders. It emerged in the interwar period, influenced by World War I and the Russian Revolution, challenging bourgeois social and cultural norms. The avant-garde can be divided into two stages:
First Stage (1906-1924)
- Cubism: Rejected direct copying of reality, instead reworking it through the investigation of structure. In literature, it introduced techniques like collage and the calligram, pioneered by Apollinaire, who sought to break down barriers between artistic disciplines.
- Futurism: Rejected tradition, celebrating the future and industrial progress. It embraced technology and was fascinated by technical discoveries. It also glorified violence and militarism while condemning feminism. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the movement’s founder, later became associated with Italian Fascism.
Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1894-1924)
Joan Salvat-Papasseit was a working-class author who expressed his revolutionary ideals in his early poetry. Poemes en Ondes Hertzianes (Poems in Hertzian Waves) was the first avant-garde work in the Iberian Peninsula, featuring techniques like collage, free verse, and social themes. El Poema de la Rosa als Llavis (The Poem of the Rose on the Lips, 1923) is his masterpiece, exploring love without restrictions. It contains two calligrams, while other poems have varied shapes.
Second Stage (from 1924)
- Dadaism: Originating in New York City, Dadaism was introduced to literature by Tristan Tzara. It confronted bourgeois rationalism through mockery and provocation, advocating for freedom, absurdity, and humor. It is characterized by ruptures in all artistic fields, blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting, and poetry.
- Surrealism: Influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis, Surrealism incorporated the unconscious, imagination, and freedom into literature. Notable authors include Salvador Dalí, Sebastià Gasch, and J.V. Foix. Federico García Lorca also participated in the movement founded by André Breton.
J.V. Foix (1893-1987)
J.V. Foix engaged with Dadaism and Surrealism through newspaper articles. He wrote prose that attempted to reproduce the free flow of dreams. In 1918, he started Trossos (Fragments), a journal that included images exploring the subconscious and the unreal. Later, he turned to classical models.