Generation of '27
Encyclopedia
The Generation of '27 was an influential group of poet
s that arose in Spanish
literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde
forms of art and poetry. Their first formal meeting took place in Seville
in 1927 to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of the baroque
poet Luis de Góngora
. Writers and intellectual
s celebrated an homage in the Ateneo de Sevilla
, which retrospectively became the foundational act of the movement.
, wrote in a style that has been loosely called jubilant and joyous and celebrates the instant, others, such as Rafael Alberti
, underwent a poetic evolution which led him from youthful poetry of a more romantic vein to politically engaged verses later in life.
The group tried to bridge the gap between Spanish popular culture and folklore, classical literary tradition and European avant-guardes. It evolved from pure poetry which emphasized music in poetry, in the vein of Baudelaire, to Futurism
, Cubism
, Ultraist
and Creationism, to become influenced by Surrealism
and finally to disperse in interior and exterior exile
following the Civil War
and World War II
(sometimes gathered by historians under the term of the "European Civil War
"). The Generation of '27 made a frequent use of visionary images, free verse
s and the so-called impure poetry preconized by Pablo Neruda.
, Pedro Salinas
, Rafael Alberti
, Federico García Lorca
, Dámaso Alonso
, Gerardo Diego
, Luis Cernuda
, Vicente Aleixandre
, Manuel Altolaguirre
and Emilio Prados
. However, many others were in their orbit, some olders such as Fernando Villalón
, José Moreno Villa
or León Felipe
and Nathan Manuel Rudolph, and others youngers such as Miguel Hernández
. Others have been forgotten by the critics, such as Juan Larre, Pepe Alameda, Mauricio Bacarisse, Juan José Domenchina, José María Hinojosa, José Bergamín
or Juan Gil-Albert. There is also the "Other generation of '27," a term coined by José López Rubio
, formed by himself and humorist disciples of Ramón Gómez de la Serna
, including: Enrique Jardiel Poncela
, Edgar Neville
, Miguel Mihura
and Antonio de Lara, "Tono", writers who would integrate after the Civil War
(1936-39) the editing board of La Codorniz...
Furthermore, the Generation of '27, as clearly reflected in the literary press of the period, was not exclusively restricted to poets, including artists such as Luis Buñuel
, the caricaturist K-Hito
, the surrealist
painters Salvador Dalí
and Óscar Domínguez
, the painter and sculptor Maruja Mallo
, as well as Benjamín Palencia, Gregorio Prieto, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz and Gabriel García Maroto, the toreros Ignacio Sánchez Mejías
, Rodolfo Halffter
and Jesús Bal y Gay
, musicologists and composers belonging to the Group of Eight
, including Bal and Gay, Ernesto Halffter
and his brother Rodolfo
, Juan José Mantecón
, Julián Bautista
, Fernando Remacha
, Rosa García Ascot
, Salvador Bacarisse
and Gustavo Pittaluga
. There was also the Catalan Group who presented themselves in 1931 under the name of Grupo de Artistas Catalanes Independientes, including Roberto Gerhard
, Baltasar Samper, Manuel Blancafort, Ricard Lamote de Grignon
, Eduardo Toldrá and Federico Mompou
.
Finally, not all literary works were written in Spanish
: Salvador Dalí and Óscar Domínguez also wrote in French, while Felipe Alfau
wrote in English. Foreigners such as the Chilean poets Pablo Neruda
and Vicente Huidobro
, the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges
, and the Franco-Spanish painter Francis Picabia
also shared a lot with the aesthetics
of the Generation of '27.
The Generation of '27 was not exclusively located in Madrid
, but rather deployed itself in a geographical constellation which maintained links together. The most important nucleus were in Sevilla, around the Mediodía review, Tenerife
around the Gaceta de Arte and Málaga, around the Litoral review. Others members resided in Galicia, Catalonia
and Valladolid
.
brought about the splitting of the movement: García Lorca
was murdered, Miguel Hernandez
died in jail, and other members (Rafael Alberti, Jose Bergamin, Leon Felipe, Luis Cernuda, Pedro Salinas, Juan Ramón Jiménez
, Bacarisse) were forced into exile, although virtually all kept writing and publishing late into the 20th century.
Dámaso Alonso
and Gerardo Diego
were among those who reluctantly remained in Spain after the Francoists' victory, and more or less reached agreements with the new authoritarian and traditionalist regime, or even openly supported it in the case of Diego. The latter evolved a lot, combining tradition and avant-guarde, and mixing many different themes, from toreo to music to religious and existentialism
disquiets, landscapes, etc. Others, such as Juan Gil-Albert, simply ignored the new regime, taking the path of interior exile and de facto converting themselves in guides and masters of a new generation of poets, such as Vicente Aleixandre
.
However, for many Spaniards the harsh reality of Francoist Spain and its reactionary nature meant that the cerebral and aesthetic verses of the Generation of '27 did not connect with what was truly happening, a task that was handled more capably by the poets of the Generation of '50 and the social poets.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s that arose in Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
forms of art and poetry. Their first formal meeting took place in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
in 1927 to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of the baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
poet Luis de Góngora
Luis de Góngora
Luis de Góngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered to be the most prominent Spanish poets of their age. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo, also known as Gongorism...
. Writers and intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s celebrated an homage in the Ateneo de Sevilla
Ateneo de Sevilla
The Ateneo de Sevilla founded in Seville, Spain in 1887 by Manuel Sales y Ferré as the Ateneo y Sociedad de Excursiones continues today in that city as a cultural, scientific, literary, and artistic association.Among its activities, it organizes Seville's annual Cavalcade of Magi and...
, which retrospectively became the foundational act of the movement.
Terminology
The name of "generation" has been discussed. The Generation of '27 has also been called, with lesser success, "Generation of the Dictatorship", "Generation of the Republic", "Generation Guillén-Lorca" (Guillén being its oldest author, and Lorca its youngest), "Generation of 1925" (average publishing date of the first book of each author), "Generation of Avant-Gardes", "Generation of Friendship," etc. According to Petersen, "generation group" or a "constellation" are better terms which are not so much historically restricted as "generation."Aesthetic style
The Generation of '27 cannot be neatly categorized stylistically, due to wide variety of genres and styles cultivated by its members. While some members, such as Jorge GuillénJorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén y Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:Jorge Guillén was born in Valladolid. His life paralleled that of his friend Pedro Salinas, whom he succeeded as a Spanish teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris from 1917 to...
, wrote in a style that has been loosely called jubilant and joyous and celebrates the instant, others, such as Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
, underwent a poetic evolution which led him from youthful poetry of a more romantic vein to politically engaged verses later in life.
The group tried to bridge the gap between Spanish popular culture and folklore, classical literary tradition and European avant-guardes. It evolved from pure poetry which emphasized music in poetry, in the vein of Baudelaire, to Futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, Ultraist
Ultraist movement
The Ultraist movement was a literary movement born in Spain in 1918, with the declared intention of opposing Modernismo, which had dominated Spanish poetry since the end of the 19th century....
and Creationism, to become influenced by Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and finally to disperse in interior and exterior exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
following the Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(sometimes gathered by historians under the term of the "European Civil War
European Civil War
The European Civil War is a term that is used to characterise both World War I and World War II and the inter-war period as a protracted civil war taking place in Europe. It is used in referring to the repeated confrontations that occurred during the first-half of the 20th century...
"). The Generation of '27 made a frequent use of visionary images, free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
s and the so-called impure poetry preconized by Pablo Neruda.
Members
In a restrictive sense, the Generation of '27 refers to ten authors, Jorge GuillénJorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén y Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:Jorge Guillén was born in Valladolid. His life paralleled that of his friend Pedro Salinas, whom he succeeded as a Spanish teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris from 1917 to...
, Pedro Salinas
Pedro Salinas
Pedro Salinas y Serrano was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. He was also a scholar and critic of Spanish literature, teaching at universities in Spain, England, and the United States....
, Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
, Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, Dámaso Alonso
Dámaso Alonso
Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas was a Spanish poet, philologist and literary critic. Though a member of the Generation of '27, his best-known work dates from the 1940s onwards. -Early life and education:...
, Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego Cendoya was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.Gerardo Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid...
, Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda , was a Spanish poet and literary critic.-Life and career:...
, Vicente Aleixandre
Vicente Aleixandre
Vicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre was a Nobel Prize laureate for Literature in 1977. He was part of the Generation of '27. He died in Madrid in 1984....
, Manuel Altolaguirre
Manuel Altolaguirre
Manuel Altolaguirre was a Spanish poet, an editor, publisher, and printer of poetry, and a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:...
and Emilio Prados
Emilio Prados
Emilio Prados was a Spanish poet and editor, a member of the Generation of '27.-Life:Born in the Andalusian city of Málaga in 1899, Prados was offered a place at Madrid's famous Residencia de estudiantes in 1914 and moved into its university section in 1918...
. However, many others were in their orbit, some olders such as Fernando Villalón
Fernando Villalón
Fernando Villalón Daoíz y Halcón, conde de Miraflores de los Ángeles was a Spanish poet and farmer.-Life:...
, José Moreno Villa
José Moreno Villa
José Moreno Villa was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. Was a rich man who excelled in facets: narrator, essayist, literary critic, artist, painter, columnist, researcher, archivist, librarian and archaeologist...
or León Felipe
León Felipe
León Felipe Camino Galicia was a Spanish poet.Felipe was born in Tábara, Zamora, Spain, while his parents were on travel. His father was a notary public, and consequently very well off. His family established in Santander. Later on, Felipe would study pharmacy and start a business as a...
and Nathan Manuel Rudolph, and others youngers such as Miguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
. Others have been forgotten by the critics, such as Juan Larre, Pepe Alameda, Mauricio Bacarisse, Juan José Domenchina, José María Hinojosa, José Bergamín
José Bergamín
José Bergamín Gutiérrez was a Spanish writer, essayist, poet, and playwright. His father served as president of the canton of Málaga; his mother was a devout Catholic...
or Juan Gil-Albert. There is also the "Other generation of '27," a term coined by José López Rubio
José López Rubio
José López Rubio y Herreros was a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, theatre historian and humorist, a member of the Generation of '27....
, formed by himself and humorist disciples of Ramón Gómez de la Serna
Ramón Gómez de la Serna
Ramón Gómez de la Serna Puig was a Spanish writer, dramatist and avant-garde agitator. He strongly influenced surrealist film maker Luis Buñuel....
, including: Enrique Jardiel Poncela
Enrique Jardiel Poncela
Enrique Jardiel Poncela was a Spanish playwright and novelist who wrote mostly humorous works....
, Edgar Neville
Edgar Neville
Edgar Neville Romrée, Count of Berlanga de Duero was a Spanish playwright and film director, a member of the Generation of '27....
, Miguel Mihura
Miguel Mihura
Miguel Mihura Santos was a Spanish playwright. He is best known for his comedy Tres sombreros de copa , a work of absurd humor that predates similar works by Beckett or Ionesco and that broke with many of the previous conventions of Spanish comic theatre.Miguel Mihura was born in Madrid in 1905...
and Antonio de Lara, "Tono", writers who would integrate after the Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(1936-39) the editing board of La Codorniz...
Furthermore, the Generation of '27, as clearly reflected in the literary press of the period, was not exclusively restricted to poets, including artists such as Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
, the caricaturist K-Hito
K-Hito
K-Hito was the pseudonym of Ricardo García López , Spanish humorist, caricaturist, bullfighting critic, film producer, and magazine publisher...
, the surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
painters Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
and Óscar Domínguez
Óscar Domínguez
Oscar M. Domínguez was a Spanish surrealist painter.Born in San Cristóbal de La Laguna on the island of Tenerife, Domínguez spent his youth with his grandmother in Tacoronte and devoted himself to painting at a young age after suffering a serious illness which affected his growth and caused a...
, the painter and sculptor Maruja Mallo
Maruja Mallo
Maruja Mallo was a Spanish painter.She was born in Vivero, Lugo, and studied arts in Madrid between 1922 and 1926, where she met many important artists, as she also did subsequently in Paris: Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel, Magritte, Max Ernst, Miró, De Chirico, André Breton,...
, as well as Benjamín Palencia, Gregorio Prieto, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz and Gabriel García Maroto, the toreros Ignacio Sánchez Mejías
Ignacio Sánchez Mejías
Ignacio Sánchez Mejías was a famous Spanish bullfighter. He was also a writer. He enjoyed enormous popularity — he was attractive to women, admired by men, and a sympathetic personality to artists, especially those of the Generación del 27.When he died after a goring in the Plaza of...
, Rodolfo Halffter
Rodolfo Halffter
Rodolfo Halffter Escriche was a Spanish composer.-Life:Born in Madrid, Spain into a family of musicians, he was the brother of Ernesto Halffter and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter, also composers. His father Ernesto Halffter Hein came from Königsberg, Germany...
and Jesús Bal y Gay
Jesús Bal y Gay
Jesús Bal y Gay was a Spanish composer, music critic, and musicologist. He was a member of Generation of '27 and the Group of Eight, the latter of which also included composers Julián Bautista, Ernesto Halffter and his brother Rodolfo, Juan José Mantecón, Fernando Remacha, Rosa García Ascot,...
, musicologists and composers belonging to the Group of Eight
Group of Eight (music)
The Group of Eight was a group of Spanish composers and musicologists, including Jesús Bal y Gay, Ernesto Halffter and his brother Rodolfo, Juan José Mantecón, Julián Bautista, Fernando Remacha, Rosa García Ascot, Salvador Bacarisse and Gustavo Pittaluga. The group was founded in the spirit of Les...
, including Bal and Gay, Ernesto Halffter
Ernesto Halffter
Ernesto Halffter Escriche was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was the brother of Rodolfo Halffter....
and his brother Rodolfo
Rodolfo Halffter
Rodolfo Halffter Escriche was a Spanish composer.-Life:Born in Madrid, Spain into a family of musicians, he was the brother of Ernesto Halffter and uncle of Cristóbal Halffter, also composers. His father Ernesto Halffter Hein came from Königsberg, Germany...
, Juan José Mantecón
Juan José Mantecón
Juan José Mantecón was a Spanish composer. He was a member of Generation of '27 and the Group of Eight, the latter of which also included composers Jesús Bal y Gay, Ernesto Halffter and his brother Rodolfo, Julián Bautista, Fernando Remacha, Rosa García Ascot, Salvador Bacarisse and Gustavo...
, Julián Bautista
Julián Bautista
Julián Bautista was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was a member of Generation of '27 and the Group of Eight, the latter of which also included composers Jesús Bal y Gay, Ernesto Halffter and his brother Rodolfo, Juan José Mantecón, Fernando Remacha, Rosa García Ascot, Salvador Bacarisse and...
, Fernando Remacha
Fernando Remacha
Fernado Remacha Villar was a composer, part of the Group of Eight which formed a sub-set of the Generation of '27.-Early years:...
, Rosa García Ascot
Rosa García Ascot
Rosa García Ascot was a Spanish composer and pianist. She was the only woman in the famed Group of Eight, whose members also included Julián Bautista, Ernesto Halffter and his brother Rodolfo, Juan José Mantecón, Fernando Remacha, Salvador Bacarisse and Jesús Bal y Gay. She married Bal y Gay in 1933...
, Salvador Bacarisse
Salvador Bacarisse
Salvador Bacarisse Chinoria was a Spanish composer.Bacarisse was born in Madrid and studied music at the Real Conservatorio de Música there, as a student of Manuel Fernández Alberdi and Conrado del Campo...
and Gustavo Pittaluga
Gustavo Pittaluga
Gustavo Pittaluga was an Italian doctor and biologist.Nationalized Spanish in 1904 Pittaluga made contributions to the development of haematology and the parasitology, as well as by his contributions to national and international fight against malaria and other protozoans causing disease s...
. There was also the Catalan Group who presented themselves in 1931 under the name of Grupo de Artistas Catalanes Independientes, including Roberto Gerhard
Roberto Gerhard
Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder was a Catalan Spanish composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Robert Gerhard.-Life:...
, Baltasar Samper, Manuel Blancafort, Ricard Lamote de Grignon
Ricard Lamote de Grignon
Ricard Lamote de Grignon i Ribas , was a Catalan Spanish composer and orchestral conductor.Ricard Lamote de Grignon was born and died in Barcelona. He was the only son of the composer Joan Lamote de Grignon and Florentina Ribas...
, Eduardo Toldrá and Federico Mompou
Federico Mompou
Frederic Mompou i Dencausse was a Catalan Spanish composer and pianist. He is best known for his solo piano music and his songs.-Life:...
.
Finally, not all literary works were written in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Salvador Dalí and Óscar Domínguez also wrote in French, while Felipe Alfau
Felipe Alfau
Felipe Alfau was a Catalan American novelist and poet. Like his contemporaries Luigi Pirandello and Flann O'Brien, Alfau is considered a forerunner of later postmodern writers such as Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Pynchon, Donald Barthelme, and Gilbert Sorrentino.Born in Barcelona, Alfau emigrated...
wrote in English. Foreigners such as the Chilean poets Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
and Vicente Huidobro
Vicente Huidobro
Vicente García-Huidobro Fernández was a Chilean poet born to an aristocratic family. He was an exponent of the artistic movement called Creacionismo , which held that a poet should bring life to the things he or she writes about, rather than just describe them.Huidobro was born into a wealthy...
, the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, and the Franco-Spanish painter Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
also shared a lot with the aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
of the Generation of '27.
The Generation of '27 was not exclusively located in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but rather deployed itself in a geographical constellation which maintained links together. The most important nucleus were in Sevilla, around the Mediodía review, Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
around the Gaceta de Arte and Málaga, around the Litoral review. Others members resided in Galicia, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
.
The Currents of '27
The name Generation of 1927 identifies poets that emerged about 1927, the 300-year anniversary of the death of Baroque poet Luis de Góngora y Argote, to whom these poets paid homage and which sparked a brief flash of neo-Gongorism. These outstanding poets—among them Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre, Dámaso Alonso, Luis Cernuda, Gerardo Diego, Federico García Lorca.The Spanish Civil War and its aftermaths
The Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
brought about the splitting of the movement: García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
was murdered, Miguel Hernandez
Miguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
died in jail, and other members (Rafael Alberti, Jose Bergamin, Leon Felipe, Luis Cernuda, Pedro Salinas, Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."-Biography:Jiménez was born in Moguer, near Huelva, in...
, Bacarisse) were forced into exile, although virtually all kept writing and publishing late into the 20th century.
Dámaso Alonso
Dámaso Alonso
Dámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas was a Spanish poet, philologist and literary critic. Though a member of the Generation of '27, his best-known work dates from the 1940s onwards. -Early life and education:...
and Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego Cendoya was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.Gerardo Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid...
were among those who reluctantly remained in Spain after the Francoists' victory, and more or less reached agreements with the new authoritarian and traditionalist regime, or even openly supported it in the case of Diego. The latter evolved a lot, combining tradition and avant-guarde, and mixing many different themes, from toreo to music to religious and existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
disquiets, landscapes, etc. Others, such as Juan Gil-Albert, simply ignored the new regime, taking the path of interior exile and de facto converting themselves in guides and masters of a new generation of poets, such as Vicente Aleixandre
Vicente Aleixandre
Vicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre was a Nobel Prize laureate for Literature in 1977. He was part of the Generation of '27. He died in Madrid in 1984....
.
However, for many Spaniards the harsh reality of Francoist Spain and its reactionary nature meant that the cerebral and aesthetic verses of the Generation of '27 did not connect with what was truly happening, a task that was handled more capably by the poets of the Generation of '50 and the social poets.
List of members
- Rafael AlbertiRafael AlbertiRafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
(1902-1999) - Felipe AlfauFelipe AlfauFelipe Alfau was a Catalan American novelist and poet. Like his contemporaries Luigi Pirandello and Flann O'Brien, Alfau is considered a forerunner of later postmodern writers such as Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Pynchon, Donald Barthelme, and Gilbert Sorrentino.Born in Barcelona, Alfau emigrated...
(1902-1999) - Vicente AleixandreVicente AleixandreVicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre was a Nobel Prize laureate for Literature in 1977. He was part of the Generation of '27. He died in Madrid in 1984....
(1898-1984) - Amado AlonsoAmado AlonsoAmado Alonso was a Spanish philologist, linguist and literary critic, who became a naturalised citizen of Argentina and one of the founders of stylistics....
(1897-1952) - Dámaso AlonsoDámaso AlonsoDámaso Alonso y Fernández de las Redondas was a Spanish poet, philologist and literary critic. Though a member of the Generation of '27, his best-known work dates from the 1940s onwards. -Early life and education:...
(1898-1990) - Manuel AltolaguirreManuel AltolaguirreManuel Altolaguirre was a Spanish poet, an editor, publisher, and printer of poetry, and a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:...
(1905-1959) - Fransisco AyalaFrancisco Ayala (novelist)Francisco Ayala García-Duarte was a Spanish writer, the last representative of the Generation of '27.- Biography :...
(1906-2009) - Mauricio Bacarisse (1895-1931)
- José BelloJosé BelloJosé "Pepín" Bello Lasierra was a Spanish intellectual and writer.Bello, born in Huesca, Aragon, was the son of engineer Severino Poëysuan Bello. His parents were friends of such Spanish intellectuals as Joaquin Costa, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, and Francisco Giner de los Rios...
(1904-2008) - Rogelio Buendía (1891-1969)
- Alejandro CasonaAlejandro CasonaAlejandro Rodríguez Álvarez, known as Alejandro Casona was a Spanish poet and playwright born in Besullo, Spain, a member of the Generation of '27. Casona received his bachelor's degree in Gijon and later studied at the University of Murcia. After Franco's rise in 1936, he was forced, like many...
(1903-1965) - Luis CernudaLuis CernudaLuis Cernuda , was a Spanish poet and literary critic.-Life and career:...
(1902-1963) - Juan ChabásJuan ChabásJuan Chabás was a Spanish-born poet and writer. He was a member of the influential group of writers known as the Generation of '27...
(1900-1954) - Ernestina de Champourcín (1905-1999)
- Gerardo DiegoGerardo DiegoGerardo Diego Cendoya was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.Gerardo Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid...
(1896-1987) - Juan José Domenchina (1898-1959)
- Antonio Espina (1894-1972)
- Agustín Espinosa (1897-1939)
- León FelipeLeón FelipeLeón Felipe Camino Galicia was a Spanish poet.Felipe was born in Tábara, Zamora, Spain, while his parents were on travel. His father was a notary public, and consequently very well off. His family established in Santander. Later on, Felipe would study pharmacy and start a business as a...
(1884-1968) - Agustín de Foxá (1903-1959)
- Pedro García CabreraPedro García CabreraPedro García Cabrera was a Spanish writer and poet. A member of the Generation of '27, he is considered one of the greatest poets of the Canary Islands.-Early life:...
(1905-1981) - Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
(1898- 1936) - Pedro GarfiasPedro GarfiasPedro Garfias was a Spanish poet.Garfias was born in Salamanca, Spain, but spent his childhood and youth in the Andalusian cities of Seville and Córdoba. In 1918 he moved to Madrid in order to study Law at University; however, he did not finish these studies. That year, Pedro Garfias, along with...
(1901-1967) - Juan Gil-Albert (1904-1994)
- Ernesto Giménez CaballeroErnesto Giménez CaballeroErnesto Giménez Caballero , also known as Gecé, was a Spanish writer, film director, diplomat and pioneer of fascism in the country difficult to classify as an European citizen and philosopher as he can be thought as one of the Spanish surrealists not far from Russian- Polish-Italian- "French"...
(1899-1988) - Jorge GuillénJorge GuillénJorge Guillén y Álvarez was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.-Biography:Jorge Guillén was born in Valladolid. His life paralleled that of his friend Pedro Salinas, whom he succeeded as a Spanish teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne in the University of Paris from 1917 to...
(1893-1984) - Emeterio Gutiérrez AlbeloEmeterio Gutiérrez AlbeloEmeterio Gutiérrez Albelo was a Spanish poet and participated in the Generación del 27....
(1905-1937) - Miguel HernándezMiguel HernándezMiguel Hernández Gilabert was a 20th century Spanish poet and playwright.-Biography:Hernández was born in Orihuela, in the Valencian Community, to a poor family and received little formal education; he published his first book of poetry at 23, and gained considerable fame before his death...
(1910-1942) - José María Hinojosa (1904-1936)
- Enrique Jardiel PoncelaEnrique Jardiel PoncelaEnrique Jardiel Poncela was a Spanish playwright and novelist who wrote mostly humorous works....
(1901-1952) - Rafael Laffón (1895-1978)
- Antonio de Lara (1896-1978)
- Juan Larrea (1895-1980)
- José López RubioJosé López RubioJosé López Rubio y Herreros was a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, theatre historian and humorist, a member of the Generation of '27....
(1903-1996)
- José María Luelmo (1904-1991)
- Francisco MadridFrancisco MadridFrancisco "Paco" Madrid was a Spanish journalist, writer and screenwriter.-Biography:A native of Barcelona, Franciso Madrid worked as a journalist in Barcelona, Paris, Geneve, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. He wrote essays, novels, and plays. He was also active in Catalunyan politics...
(1900-1952) - Paulino MasipPaulino MasipPaulino Masip Roca was a Spanish playwright, screenwriter and novelist, a member of the Generation of '27. Driven into exile in Mexico in 1939 by the events of the Spanish Civil War, he became involved with the nascent Golden age of Mexican cinema and was the author of over 50 screenplays...
(1899-1963) - Concha MéndezConcha MéndezConcepción Méndez Cuesta was a leading Spanish poet and dramatist and member of the Generation of '27 who became known in the literary world under the pseudonym Concha Mendez.-Early life:...
(1898-1986) - Miguel MihuraMiguel MihuraMiguel Mihura Santos was a Spanish playwright. He is best known for his comedy Tres sombreros de copa , a work of absurd humor that predates similar works by Beckett or Ionesco and that broke with many of the previous conventions of Spanish comic theatre.Miguel Mihura was born in Madrid in 1905...
(1905-1977) - Edgar NevilleEdgar NevilleEdgar Neville Romrée, Count of Berlanga de Duero was a Spanish playwright and film director, a member of the Generation of '27....
(1899-1967) - Antonio Oliver (1903-1968)
- Pedro Pérez-Clotet (1902-1966)
- Rafael Porlán (1899-1945)
- Emilio PradosEmilio PradosEmilio Prados was a Spanish poet and editor, a member of the Generation of '27.-Life:Born in the Andalusian city of Málaga in 1899, Prados was offered a place at Madrid's famous Residencia de estudiantes in 1914 and moved into its university section in 1918...
(1899-1962) - Joaquín Romero Murube (1904-1969)
- Pedro SalinasPedro SalinasPedro Salinas y Serrano was a Spanish poet and member of the Generation of '27. He was also a scholar and critic of Spanish literature, teaching at universities in Spain, England, and the United States....
(1891-1951) - Guillermo de TorreGuillermo de TorreGuillermo de Torre , was a Spanish essayist, poet and literary critic, a Dadaist and member of the Generation of '27. He is also notable as the brother-in-law of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.-Biography:...
(1900-1971) - José María SouvirónJosé María SouvirónJosé María Souvirón was a Spanish poet, writer, and professor.He was a member of the Generation of '27, an influential group of Spanish poets. He was the founder of the literary magazine Ambos in Malaga . He won the Miguel de Cervantes Spanish National Prize for Literature...
(1904-1973) - Miguel Valdivieso (1897-1966)
- Fernando VillalónFernando VillalónFernando Villalón Daoíz y Halcón, conde de Miraflores de los Ángeles was a Spanish poet and farmer.-Life:...
(1881-1930)