Jorge Guillén
Encyclopedia
Jorge Guillén y Álvarez (18 January 1893 – 6 February 1984) was a Spanish
poet
, a member of the Generation of '27
.
. 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 1923. He was also a professor at the University of Murcia
from 1925 to 1929, where he collaborated with Verso y Prosa, a literary review founded by Juan Guerrero Ruiz, Oxford University from 1929 to 1931, and the University of Seville
from 1932 to 1938. Exiled, he was forced to establish himself in the United States
to continue his postsecondary teaching. He was a professor of Spanish at Wellesley College from 1941 to 1957. During this time he also served for a year as the Norton professor at Harvard University
.
He retired to Italy
, where he married for the second time. He later moved to the city of Málaga
. In 1977, he was awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize
, one of the most prestigious prizes for Spanish-language writers. He died in Málaga in 1984, age 91.
. Guillén broke into the literary scene at a relatively late age: his first book, Cántico, was published when he was 35 years old.
Cántico was initially published in the Revista de Occidente and included only 75 poems. Three successively larger editions were later published. The final version, published in 1950 in Buenos Aires, consisted of 334 poems divided into five sections: Al aire de tu vuelo, Las horas situadas, El pájaro en la mano, Aquí mismo and Pleno ser. In this work, he basked in the joy of existence, the harmony of the universe, the peak of humanity, and the integration of the poet into a universe of perfection where one more often finds himself loved. Optimism and serenity characterize the poetry of his first book.
With the experience of the Spanish Civil War
, he wrote his second book of poetry, Clamor. This second work shows an awareness for the temporary nature of life and allows the introduction of the negative side of history: misery, war, pain, death. It is composed of three parts: Maremágnum (1957), whose central focus - Luzbel desconcertado and La hermosa y los excéntricos - presented a lack of harmony; Que van a dar en el mar (1960), where the idea of the continuity brought by death is developed; and A la altura de las circumstancias (1963), where the struggle to re-establish balance appears. If Cántico exalted the perfection of creation, Clamor tore it down. In spite of this, the book was not perceived as an overly anguished or pessimistic work because in it Guillén re-assesses his will to live.
Homenaje was published in 1967. As it is indicated in its title, Guillén honoured outstanding people of the world of art and science using the techniques of dramatic monologue and of imagery.
He gave the title Aire nuestro to the compilation of his three great poetry books prior to 1968. He would later publish Y otros poemas (1973) and Final (1982).
The complexity of Guillén's work resides in his ideal of pure poetry, which can be summarised as:
Guillén also translated Le cimetière marin by Paul Valery (M., Paris, Bs. As., 1930
).
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...
poet
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...
, a member of the Generation of '27
Generation of '27
The Generation of '27 was an influential group of poets 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...
.
Biography
Jorge Guillén was born in ValladolidValladolid
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...
. His life paralleled that of his friend 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....
, whom he succeeded as a 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...
teaching assistant at the Collège de Sorbonne
Collège de Sorbonne
The Collège de Sorbonne was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon, after whom it is named. With the rest of the Paris colleges, it was suppressed during the French Revolution. It was restored in 1808 but finally closed in 1882. The name Sorbonne...
in the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
from 1917 to 1923. He was also a professor at the University of Murcia
University of Murcia
The University of Murcia is the main university in Murcia, Spain. With 38,000 students, it is the largest university in the Región de Murcia.-History:...
from 1925 to 1929, where he collaborated with Verso y Prosa, a literary review founded by Juan Guerrero Ruiz, Oxford University from 1929 to 1931, and the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
from 1932 to 1938. Exiled, he was forced to establish himself in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to continue his postsecondary teaching. He was a professor of Spanish at Wellesley College from 1941 to 1957. During this time he also served for a year as the Norton professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
He retired to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he married for the second time. He later moved to the city of Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
. In 1977, he was awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize
Miguel de Cervantes Prize
The Miguel de Cervantes Prize , established in 1976, is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The prize is similar to the Booker Prize, with its candidates from Commonwealth countries, in that it rewards authors from any...
, one of the most prestigious prizes for Spanish-language writers. He died in Málaga in 1984, age 91.
Analysis of his work
Because of his inclination to pure poetry, some critics consider Guillén to be a disciple of poet Juan Ramón JiménezJuan 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...
. Guillén broke into the literary scene at a relatively late age: his first book, Cántico, was published when he was 35 years old.
Cántico was initially published in the Revista de Occidente and included only 75 poems. Three successively larger editions were later published. The final version, published in 1950 in Buenos Aires, consisted of 334 poems divided into five sections: Al aire de tu vuelo, Las horas situadas, El pájaro en la mano, Aquí mismo and Pleno ser. In this work, he basked in the joy of existence, the harmony of the universe, the peak of humanity, and the integration of the poet into a universe of perfection where one more often finds himself loved. Optimism and serenity characterize the poetry of his first book.
With the experience of the Spanish 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...
, he wrote his second book of poetry, Clamor. This second work shows an awareness for the temporary nature of life and allows the introduction of the negative side of history: misery, war, pain, death. It is composed of three parts: Maremágnum (1957), whose central focus - Luzbel desconcertado and La hermosa y los excéntricos - presented a lack of harmony; Que van a dar en el mar (1960), where the idea of the continuity brought by death is developed; and A la altura de las circumstancias (1963), where the struggle to re-establish balance appears. If Cántico exalted the perfection of creation, Clamor tore it down. In spite of this, the book was not perceived as an overly anguished or pessimistic work because in it Guillén re-assesses his will to live.
Homenaje was published in 1967. As it is indicated in its title, Guillén honoured outstanding people of the world of art and science using the techniques of dramatic monologue and of imagery.
He gave the title Aire nuestro to the compilation of his three great poetry books prior to 1968. He would later publish Y otros poemas (1973) and Final (1982).
The complexity of Guillén's work resides in his ideal of pure poetry, which can be summarised as:
- Removal of anecdotes;
- Transforming adjectives into nouns;
- Lack of verbs;
- Linguistical accuracy; and
- Thematic concentration.
Poetic work
- Cántico (75 poems), M., Revista de Occidente, 19281928 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Russian poets Daniil Kharms and Alexander Vvedensky found OBERIU , an avant-garde grouping of Russian post-Futurist poets in the 1920s-1930s* American poets Charles Reznikoff, George Oppen and Louis...
- Cántico (125 poems), M., Cruz y Raya, 19361936 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* James Laughlin founds New Directions Publishers in New York, which published many modern poets for the first time;...
- Cántico (270 poems), México, Litoral, 19451945 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, based on George Crabbe's The Borough...
- Cántico (334 poems), Bs. As., Sudamericana, 19501950 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Charles Olson publishes his seminal essay, Projective Verse. In this, he called for a poetry of "open field" composition to replace traditional closed poetic forms with an improvised form that should...
- Huerto de Melibea, M., Ínsula, 19541954 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Robert Creeley founds and edits the Black Mountain Review...
- Del amanecer y el despertar, Valladolid, 19561956 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* February 27—Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath meet in Cambridge...
- Clamor. Maremagnun, Bs. As., Sudamericana, 19571957 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Howl obscenity trial in San Francisco brings significant attention to beat poetry, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg...
- Lugar de Lázaro, Málaga, Col. A quien conmigo va, 19571957 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Howl obscenity trial in San Francisco brings significant attention to beat poetry, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg...
- Clamor... Que van a dar en la mar, Bs. As., Sudamericana, 19601960 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* August Derleth launches the poetry magazine, Hawk and Whippoorwill....
- Historia Natural, Palma de Mallorca, Papeles de Sons Armadans, 19601960 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* August Derleth launches the poetry magazine, Hawk and Whippoorwill....
- Las tentaciones de Antonio, Florencia/Santander, Graf. Hermanos Bedia, 19621962 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Writers in the Soviet Union this year were allowed to publish criticism of Joseph Stalin and were given more freedom generally, although many were severely criticized for doing so...
- Según las horas, Puerto Rico, Editorial Universitaria, 19621962 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Writers in the Soviet Union this year were allowed to publish criticism of Joseph Stalin and were given more freedom generally, although many were severely criticized for doing so...
- Clamor. A la altura de las circunstancias, Bs. As., Sudamericana, 19631963 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* January 26 – Raghunath Vishnu Pandit, an Indian poet who wrote in both Konkani and Marathi languages, publishes five books of poems this day* The Belfast Group, a discussion group of poets in...
- Homenaje. Reunión de vidas, Milán, All'Insegna del Pesce d'oro, 19671967 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*Cecil Day-Lewis is selected as the new Poet Laureate of the UK....
- Aire nuestro: Cántico, Clamor, Homenaje, Milán, All'Insegna del Pesce d'oro, 19681968 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Belfast Group, a grouping of poets in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which was started in 1963 in poetry, lapsed in 1966 when founder Philip Hobsbaum left for Glasgow, is reconstituted this year by...
- Guirnalda civil, Cambridge, Halty Eferguson, 19701970 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* May – "La nuit de la poésie", a poetry reading in Montreal bringing together poets from French Canada to recite before an audience of more than 2,000 in the Théâtre du Gesu, lasting until 7...
- Al margen, M., Visor, 19721972 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* John Betjeman becomes Poet Laureate...
- Y otros poemas, Bs. As., Muchnik, 19731973 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Canadian poet and author, Michael Ondaatje adapts his 1970 book of poetry, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, into a play which this year is first produced in Stratford, Ontario; it will appear in...
- Convivencia, M., Turner, 19751975 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* With the 1974, fall of the dictatorship in Greece, poets, authors and intellectuals who had fled after the coup of 1967 returned, and this year many began publishing in that country.* Brick Books, a...
- Final, B., Barral, 19811981 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement....
- La expresión, Ferrol, Sociedad de Cultura Valle-Inclán, 19811981 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement....
- Horses in the Air and Other Poems, 1999
Guillén also translated Le cimetière marin by Paul Valery (M., Paris, Bs. As., 1930
1930 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Canada:*Alfred Bailey, Tao: A Ryerson Poetry Chap Book, ....
).