Postwar Spanish Poetry: Movements and Key Poets
Postwar Spanish Poetry
Miguel Hernández
Considered one of the best poets of the 20th century. His work includes the following titles:
- Perito en lunas (1933): A book of Gongorine-style poetry with formal complexity.
- El rayo que no cesa (1936): A book primarily composed of sonnets. The fundamental theme is unhappy, tragic love that deeply wounds the poet.
- Viento del pueblo (1937) and El hombre acecha (1939): Two books written during the Civil War. The theme of love gives way to social and civic poetry.
- Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (1938-1941): Hernández’s last work is a pessimistic book in which the poet laments everything lost. He expresses painful poetry about human problems in a desolate world.
Style
His style evolves from a neo-baroque aesthetic to a leaner, more sober style.
Poetry of the Franco Era (Forty Years)
The main lyrical lines are articulated around four literary magazines:
Key Literary Magazines
Garcilaso (1943-1946)
The first important literary magazine of postwar Spanish poetry. It represented ‘rooted poetry’ (poesía arraigada), and its contributors, known as Garcilasistas, wrote in classical forms imitating Garcilaso de la Vega.
Espadaña (1944-1946)
Born in opposition to Garcilaso, it featured ‘uprooted poetry’ (poesía desarraigada), focusing on the harsh realities and human condition.
Cántico (1947-1949, 1954-1957)
A magazine focused on pure poetry. Love was a fundamental theme, and Pablo García Baena was a key representative of the ‘Cántico’ group.
Postismo (1945)
Considered the last of the Spanish ‘isms’. Founded by Carlos Edmundo de Ory, its foundation claimed creative freedom.
Social Poetry and Authors
Blas de Otero (1916-1979)
He is the most important poet of ‘uprooted poetry’ (poesía desarraigada). His work is divided into two stages:
- Ángel fieramente humano (1950) and Redoble de conciencia (1951): The anguished poet rebels against God; a religiosity born from the pain and loneliness invading humanity.
- Pido la paz y la palabra (1955), En castellano (1959): The word acquires aesthetic and ethical value, used to report and communicate human suffering.
José Hierro (1922–2002)
Born in Madrid. He lived through the Civil War, was arrested, and imprisoned for a long period in Spanish prisons. He received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 1981 and the Cervantes Prize in 1998.
Work
This writer was one of the most significant Spanish poets. An author of existential and social poetry, he never fully identified with any single line. His poems are often categorized into two types:
- Reports (Reportajes): Direct testimonies, visions.
- Hallucinations (Alucinaciones): Vaguely expressed emotions.
In 1990, he published Agenda, which includes a tribute to Lope de Vega. In 1998, his final work, Cuadernos de Nueva York, appeared.
Later 20th Century Poetry
Generation of ’68: The Novísimos
The publication in 1970 of the anthology Nueve novísimos poetas españoles by José María Castellet confirmed a new poetry group proposing a change in artistic movements. This was the first generation of poets born after the Civil War. Its features include:
- Broad cultural background reflected in their poems (Culturalism).
- Meticulous attention to form.
- Revival of Modernist and Decadent elements.
- Aversion towards social poetry.
- Wide variety of themes.
Poets of the Seventies
From the seventies onwards, greater variety can be seen in Spanish lyric poetry. Some of these trends are:
- Experimentalism: Use of older avant-garde techniques.
- Culturalism: Influence from the Greco-Roman classical world.
- Classicism: Influence from Renaissance authors.
- Minimalism: Poetry of silence.
- Metapoetry
Poets of Recent Decades
- 1980s: A resurgence of Surrealism, notably featuring Blanca Andreu.
- Poetry of Experience (Poesía de la experiencia): Focuses on urban themes and personal experiences. Notable poets include Luis García Montero and Felipe Benítez Reyes.