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- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Mixed metaphors: contemporary Spanish poetry
While not quite as buoyant as the novel, poetry has
enjoyed a period of relative good health since the mid
1970s.Thenovísimoshave kept the ballpoint rolling,
embracing popular culture and new modes of life
while also giving a nod to Spain’s literary heritage.
However, thematically, the last three decades have
been something of a free-for-all. Certain trends have
emerged, notably thepoesía de la experienciathat
examined the routine of the everyday, but on the whole
poets have done their own thing.
Pere Gimferrer. The most widely acknowledged of thenovísimos, known for his
brilliant use of metaphor, began writing in Catalan in the 1970s and has yet to stop.
José María Álvaréz. Another poet who began publishing under Franco but
embraced theTransiciónof the 1980s with highly individual musings on sex, music
and celebrity.
Ana Rossetti. Among a gaggle of liberated female poets in Spain who broke new
ground writing about emotion and desire. Often erotic, her poems reflect themovida
spirit of swinging Madrid.
Luis García Montero. Montero’spoesía de la experienciahas reacted to the
extravagance of liberated Spain, using characters immersed in a more regular city
existence.
Luis Alberto de Cuenca. Another poet focussed on the everyman, Alberto de
Cuenca wittily merges modern and classic themes to widespread popular acclaim.
Five modern Spanish poets to get to grips with
