Rafael Alberti, Pablo Neruda, and Nicolás Guillén
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POLITICAL POETRY IN THE WAKE OF THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC: RAFAEL ALBERTI, PABLO NERUDA, AND NICOLÁS GUILLÉN DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Grant Daryl Moss, Master Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Stephen J. Summerhill, Advisor Eugenia Romero Juan Zevallos Aguilar Copyright by Grant Daryl Moss 2010 ABSTRACT For some, it is a common conception that if a poet includes politics in his poetry then he has degraded it. For others, politics must be included in poetry or it has no purpose. The purpose of this dissertation is to debunk the myths that surround political commitment and poetry; to build up the relationship between poetry and politics. This dissertation explores the simultaneous development of politics and poetics in three Spanish-language poets: Rafael Alberti, Nicolás Guillén, and Pablo Neruda. I argue that the simultaneous development was nurtured by the Second Spanish Republic (1931- 1939). Beginning in these years, Alberti, Guillén, and Neruda strove to tackle the challenge of committing to their own independent poetic projects and to their politics simultaneously. Later, these three poets maintained their Communist Party affiliation until their deaths and produced collection after collection of quality poetry. Despite the differences in their overall poetic trajectories and projects, the ability to maneuver between politics and poetry without sacrificing either one is common among them. The poetry of these three artists is not simply political propaganda nor is it ―poetry for poetry‘s sake.‖ In other words, the poetry strives to bring together issues such as communism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, class struggle, worker‘s rights among others; yet for these three authors these topics strengthen their poetics and challenge traditional thought about what poetry is. Because of their unique experiences during the time of the Second Spanish Republic in Spain, each author explicitly turned to denounce the ii injustices that the opposing Franquist forces had committed against the Republic, a place that had given more rights to workers. After the fall of the Republic in 1939, Alberti, Guillén, and Neruda continued to intertwine their politics with their poems only in a less obvious manner. Therefore, the poets could solidify their position within the poetic canon while at the same time they could maintain their position as committed Communists. iii Dedicated to God, Mindi, Paul, Eve Montserrat, AnaSofia, Luke, and the future iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am very thankful for my wife, Mindi, who has listened every day for the past five years. I also thank Paul, Eve Montserrat, AnaSofia, and Luke because they have reminded me constantly of what is truly important. I have to also recognize my parents, Daryl and Carolyn Moss, and my grandparents, Fenton and Claire Moss and Morris ―Bud‖ and Marge Maxfield, for their contributions to my personal development. I am thankful for Steve Summerhill, my advisor, who took on my project. I respect him very much. His straightforward manner and hard work have made this project what it has become. I am indebted to Steve for his time, help, and concern for my professional and personal well-being. Thanks Steve. I would also like to thank Eugenia Romero and Juan Zevallos Aguilar for their time and advice. They care about me as a student and future colleague, but more importantly they care about me as a person. Eugenia and Juan continually encouraged me to follow through with this project and gave me important advice to survive graduate school. I thank Richard Gordon for his professional expertise because he helped me to see the big picture in academia. Richard, you spent your time well with me. v Antonio San Roman and the rest of the staff at the Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española in Salamanca, Spain provided me with the help I needed to maneuver through the vast articles of the Archives on various occasions. The people of Barcelona, Lleida, Castellón, Valencia, Alicante, and Salamanca contributed to foster my interest in the Spanish Civil War and Spanish Literature. This project would never have begun without your influence. Finally, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the Ohio State University gave me various travel grants, the OSU Center for Latin American Studies awarded me the Tinker Foundation Preliminary Dissertation Research Grant, The OSU Office of International Affairs provided travel awards, and the United States Department of Education presented me with the Foreign Language Area Scholarship (FLAS) to learn Portuguese. All of these funds have allowed my project to progress to where it is today. vi VITA April 30, 1977 ................................................Born in Salt Lake City, Utah 2001................................................................B.A. English/Spanish, University of Utah 2004 ...............................................................Master, Latin American Studies, Universidad de Salamanca 2005-2010 ......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS ―La retórica de la propaganda como agente de cambio literario en Huidobro durante la Guerra Civil Española.‖ Anales de Literatura Chilena 9 (Monográfico Vicente Huidobro) (June 2008): 205-220. ―El cantón de Cartagena visto por Benito Pérez Galdós en La primera República y De Cartago a Sagunto y por Ramón J. Sender en Mr. Witt en el cantón.‖ Deseo, poder y política en la cultura hispánica (2007): 163-170. Review of Gilberto Freyre e os estudos latino-americanos por Joshua Lund e Malcom McNee, eds. Hispania. Vol. 90.4 (December 2007): 708-709. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Intellectuals and the Spanish Republic ............................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 History of Intellectuals' Political Commitment ............................................................ 2 Europe 1848-1917 ..................................................................................................... 3 Spain 1868-1917 ....................................................................................................... 5 The International Scene 1917-1931 ........................................................................ 14 Spain 1917-1939 ..................................................................................................... 16 The Second Spanish Republic 1931-1939 .............................................................. 25 The Possibilities of Reconciliation between Politics and Aesthetics after 1939 .... 47 Chapter 2: Rafael Alberti: Between Aesthetics and Politics ............................................ 56 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 56 Brief biographical history leading up to the Republic ................................................. 57 Criticism ....................................................................................................................... 59 viii Alberti's Poetry during the Republic ............................................................................ 62 El poeta en la calle ................................................................................................. 63 De un momento a otro............................................................................................. 69 Alberti's Poetry After the Fall of the Republic ............................................................ 76 Vida bilingüe de un refugiado español en Francia ................................................ 77 Entre el clavel y la espada ...................................................................................... 79 Pleamar ................................................................................................................... 90 Signos del día ........................................................................................................ 106 Retornos de lo vivo lejano..................................................................................... 113 Coplas de Juan Panadero ..................................................................................... 123 Summary .................................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 3: Pablo Neruda: Epic Revolutionary Poet ....................................................... 128 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 128 Brief Biographical History Leading up to the Republic ...........................................