Valencian Dialects & Catalan Poetry After 1940
Valencian South
It is spoken in the region of Safor, part of Ribera Baja, the Coast, County Vall d’Albaida, Alcoià, Marina Alta, and Marina Baja.
- Phonetics: Trend of vowel harmony: all-end is pronounced as the unstressed syllable preceding or open, or open and tonic above.
- Morphosyntax: Substitution of the weak second-person pronoun you or the form the by the form is.
The Alicante Dialect
Extends throughout the counties of Alicante, Bajo Vinalopó, and Vinalopó.
- Phonetics:
- Alicante dialect also presents vowel harmony.
- Systematic loss of intervocalic consonants.
- Elimination of final -r.
- The diphthong -ou- opens in -au-.
- Morphosyntax:
- Use of the adverb here instead of well.
- Use of the form Asto instead of the neutral demonstrative this.
- Use of the impersonal form is there instead of there is.
- Vocabulary:
- Abundance of Spanish loanwords.
- Existence of archaisms.
Symbolist Tradition Poetry
Since 1940, poets have sung about hurt, personal and collective defeat, and exile. Notable poets include: Carles Riba, Bartomeu Rosselló-Pòrcel, Màrius Torres, Agustí Bartra, Joan Teixidor, Joan Vinyoli, Salvador Espriu, Joan Valls, and Xavier Casp.
Salvador Espriu
A poet with exceptional cultural heritage, classical training, and extraordinary mastery of language registers. He wrote novels (Laia), theater plays (Antigone, First History of Esther, and Another Phaedra, Please), and poetry (Cementiri de Sinera, Les Hores, Mrs. Death, El Caminant i el Mur, and Final del Laberint).
Vanguard Poetry
It focused on formal experimentation and research resources related to very expressive means, such as anti-poetry and visual poetry. Joan Brossa stands out.
Joan Brossa (1919-1998)
The most representative author of the desire for research and experimental poetry. He used forms like the sonnet, the sestina, and romance. His poems are characterized by a surreal touch. Notable works: Em va fer Joan Brossa, Saltamartí, Poesia rasa, Els ulls de l’òliba, and Poemes de seny i cabell.
Historical Realism
It is a tool for expressing everyday reality with a more cultural and national recovery, and against the new regime. It advocates the use of a living and colloquial language, direct, communicative, and understandable to most. Some highlights: Pere Quart, Gabriel Ferrater, Miquel Martí i Pol, and Vicent Andrés Estellés.
Miquel Martí i Pol (1929-2003)
Showed his commitment to the working class and Catalonia. Works: El poble, La fàbrica, Vint-i-set poemes en tres temps, L’arrel i l’escorça, Quadern de vacances, Crònica de demà, Estimada Marta, L’àmbit de tots els àmbits, Andorra, postals i altres poemes, and Llibre de les solituds.
Vicent Andrés Estellés (1924-1993)
A man of extensive literary training, a friend of intellectuals, he helped to restore dignity and the use of our language. He published more than a hundred books. Notable works: Recomane tenebres, Les pedres de l’àmfora, Manual de conformitats, La nit, Llibre de meravelles, Horacianes, Hotel París, and Mural del País Valencià. Estellés’s poetry contains classic resources. Frequent themes are: hunger, misery, death, love, eroticism, daily life, and the cultural identity of the people.