Spanish Post-War Poetry: Trends and Key Authors
Entrenched Poetry
At the center, we find a group of poets who called themselves “creative youth” and were grouped around the magazine Garcilaso, hence they are also known as the “Garcilasistas.” They turned their attention to Garcilaso de la Vega. They emerged from the conflict with an optimistic desire for clarity, perfection, and order. Using pure classical form, they enclosed a coherent, orderly, and quiet worldview (even sadness is expressed with serenity and clarity). Dominant themes include a strong religious sentiment, alongside traditional topics (love, landscape, beautiful things, etc.).
Key Authors: Luis Rosales, Leopoldo Panero, Luis Felipe Vivanco, Dionisio Ridruejo.
Uprooted Poetry
In contrast to the previous group was “uprooted poetry.” Dámaso Alonso stated: “others are very far from any line and calm.” His book Children of Wrath is a dramatic response to this unease. Another magazine welcomed poets of this trend: Espadaña, founded by Victoriano Crémer and Eugenio de Nora.
This poetry is passionate, with a tragic and bitter tone (sometimes described as “alarmist”). It faces a shattered and chaotic world, overwhelmed by suffering and anguish. Religiosity is also very present, but it takes on a tone of despair, doubt, or is manifested in desperate invocations and curses directed at God concerning the mystery of human pain. This dramatic, torn humanism has a clear connection with the existentialist movement. The primary concern is for humanity (before the clear lead into “social poetry”). The style is unrefined, direct, simpler, and certainly less concerned with aesthetic niceties.
Social Poetry
By 1955, “social realism” consolidated. Two books of poems marked a milestone: Pido la paz y la palabra (I Ask for Peace and the Word) by Blas de Otero and Cantos Íberos (Iberian Songs) by Gabriel Celaya. In these works, both poets moved from their previous period of existential angst to place human problems in a social setting.
Building on “uprooted poetry,” the transition to “social poetry” was made. Poetry, therefore, should “take sides” on the problems of the surrounding world. The poet is “supportive” of other men; any aesthetic goals are superseded by more immediate ones: “Poetry,” according to Celaya, “is an instrument, among others, to transform the world.” Some of his verses best illustrate these ideas; they belong to a poem significantly titled Poetry is a Gun Loaded with the Future.
The “Theme of Spain”
The “theme of Spain” becomes even more obsessive than for the “Generation of ’98,” but with a very different (more political) approach. Examples include titles of books or poems like: Que trata de España (What About Spain) by Otero.
Dominant Themes and Style
In Spain, the general concern encompasses these themes: social injustice, alienation, the world of work, and the desire for freedom and a better world.
These themes, and the intentions underlying them, explain the dominant notes in style. Poets are directed “to the majority”: Celaya and Otero, leading many others, express their desire to reach the common people. This claim leads to the use of clear language, often intentionally prosaic, and a systematic use of conversational tone. Celaya talks about “writing as one who breathes.” Otero says, “I write as I spit.” It is extreme, departing from aesthetic niceties. Admittedly, many fall into the danger of prosaic poetry in the worst sense: banal poetry, due to a strange modesty about “making literature.” But it is also true that the great poets succeed in discovering the poetic values of everyday language.