Portuguese Poetry: Franco Dictatorship (1936-1975)
Portuguese Poetry Between 1936 and 1976
After the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the Franco dictatorship (until 1975) began. This authoritarian regime was characterized by a lack of basic freedoms, such as speech or assembly, to impose a single ideology and deny the linguistic and cultural diversity of Spain. Consequently, some authors connected with the Brotherhood and the Galicianist Party, such as Castelao, had to emigrate for political reasons and continued their literary work in America. Those who stayed in Portugal experienced the so-called “internal exile,” giving rise to literary silence and a lack of editorial activity in Portugal during the 1940s.
Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín groups the poets of the postwar period into three generations: the Generation of ’36, the Link Generation, and the Promotion of the Minervan Festivals.
Generation of ’36
The first group includes authors born between 1910 and 1920 who were related to X and X. 25, participated in the Civil War, and published some works prior to the dictatorship. Among them are:
- Celso Emilio Ferreiro: Cultivated social poetry, continuing the previous line of demanding poets like Curros and Dantas, especially during *Long Night of Stone* (1962). He also wrote satirical poetry, *Traveling to the Country of the Dwarfs* (1968), and intimate poetry, *Where We Are Called Celanova* (1975).
- Aquilino Iglesia Alvariño: Stands out as a follower of neo-troubadour and landscape poetry in *Comar Green* (1947), also cultivating existential poetry in *Day by Day* (1960).
- Xosé María Álvarez Blázquez: Achieved notoriety for neo-troubadour poetry with *The Songbook of Monfero* (1953), in which he pretends to find a medieval manuscript.
- Álvaro Cunqueiro: Presents a poetic work, before the Civil War, of unconventional neo-troubadour character, and after the Civil War, more personal, consisting of *Dona Body* (1950) and *Herbs Here and There* (1980).
Link Generation
The authors of the so-called “Link Promotion” were born between 1920 and 1930. Their formation coincided with increased repression of Portuguese culture (1940s). They wrote their work in Spanish and needed a creative and aesthetic unit. Among them are:
- Antonio Tovar: Addressed existential themes in *Arredores* (1962) and social themes in *Quiet Esconxuros* (1980).
- Luz Pozo Garza: A superb example of intimate and loving poetry, as in *The Bird in the Mouth* (1952).
Generation of the Minervan Festivals
The generation of the Minervan Festivals is formed by authors born between 1930 and 1940 who participated in the restoration of the Minervan Festivals of Compostela (1950s). They published in the New Island collection (Galaxia), broke with culturalist Galicianism, and started revolutionary nationalism. This generation presents two successive poetic trends: the so-called existentialist school of darkness and the social-realist school of social critique. Examples include:
- Manuel María: Wrote existential poetry in *Earth Cha* (1954) and social poetry in *Personal Documents* (1958).
- Bernardino Graña: Began with existential poetry in *Poem of the Man Who Wanted to Live* (1958) and later wrote poetry praising seafaring life in *Prophecy of the Sea* (1966).
- Uxío Novoneyra: To whom this year’s Day of Galician Literature is dedicated, wrote landscape poetry in *Os Eidos* (1955), love poetry in *Elexías a Lola e outros poemas* (1987), and social poetry in *Calligraphic Poems* (1980).
- Méndez Ferrín: Began his poetic journey with the existential poetry of *You in the Mist* (1957), moved through social poetry with *Poetry of Heriberto Bens* (1980), and introduced new themes and forms with *Gunpowder and Magnolias* (1976), a work that represents the beginning of a new stage for twentieth-century Portuguese poetry.