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Miguel Hernández's Final Poetry Collection Re-edited
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Miguel Hernández's Final Poetry Collection Re-edited

From ABC Color · (10m ago) Spanish Positive tone

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • A new edition of Miguel Hernández's final poetry collection, 'Cancionero y romancero de ausencias,' has been released.
  • The collection, written during his imprisonment by the Franco regime, expresses hope amidst the desolation of the Spanish Civil War.
  • Poet and philologist Luis Alberto de Cuenca highlights the work's profound emotional impact and Hernández's status as a major 20th-century poet.

The enduring power of Miguel Hernández's verse continues to resonate, with a new edition of his final, poignant collection, 'Cancionero y romancero de ausencias,' now available to readers.

it is capable of 'moving, even more than to simply evoke emotion' to the readers, as it 'groups and makes a kind of wonderful cocktail' between neopopularism, a certain surrealism, the writing of the self and other tendencies of the poetry of the time.

— Luis Alberto de CuencaDe Cuenca describes the powerful emotional impact and stylistic richness of Hernández's final poetry collection.

This collection, penned during the final, tragic years of Hernández's life while imprisoned by the Franco regime, stands as a profound testament to the human spirit's capacity for hope even in the darkest of times. Written before his untimely death from tuberculosis at the age of 31, these poems offer a raw and deeply personal reflection on loss, love, and the enduring desire for peace in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

He is in prison when he writes the book, and he is continuously concerned about his wife, about the new son who has been born and who will survive him, as well as the other son who died before.

— Luis Alberto de CuencaDe Cuenca explains the tragic personal circumstances that influenced the themes and content of the poems.

According to poet and philologist Luis Alberto de Cuenca, who is responsible for this new edition published by Reino de Cordelia, Hernández's work possesses an almost unparalleled ability to 'move, even more than to simply evoke emotion.' De Cuenca describes the collection as a masterful blend of neopopularism, surrealism, and introspective writing, characteristic of the era's poetic landscape. The inclusion of drawings by illustrator Toño Benavides further enriches this edition, offering a visual dimension to Hernández's evocative words.

We are experiencing something that exists, that is not imposed.

— Luis Alberto de CuencaDe Cuenca comments on the authenticity and raw emotional truth of Hernández's poetry, particularly 'Nanas de la cebolla'.

De Cuenca emphasizes the authenticity and profound tenderness of poems like 'Nanas de la cebolla' (Lullaby of the Onion), written for his son. These verses, born from extreme hardship and the news that his wife could only feed their child with bread and onions, are described as 'one of the most tender and delightful poems' by the author, offering a 'breath of life' that 'moistens the eyes' of the reader. The philologist firmly places Hernández among the giants of 20th-century Spanish poetry, such as Lorca and Juan Ramón Jiménez, highlighting his prodigious talent despite a lack of formal education, achieved through sheer willpower and courage.

He is a prodigious poet, one of the great poets of the 20th century, who does not detract anything compared to Lorca or Juan Ramón Jiménez.

— Luis Alberto de CuencaDe Cuenca praises Hernández's literary stature and compares him to other renowned Spanish poets.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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