04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd la propiedadesestéticas,formalesymaterialesdeésteotrosvolúmenes delmismoautor. enconstitutivasde también enlaformacióndesubjetividad—seconvierten —cruciales ofagoodnumberpoems. of theaesthetic,formal,andmaterialproperties aswellinsubjectformation—becomesconstitutive where lossanditsaftermath—crucial ASBTRACT trauma. PALABRAS ma largo ilustramos estosdebatesmediantelapoesíadeStephen Spender, yenconcreto, desupoe- reflexión sobrecuestionesdedueloytrauma,dentrodelmarco delamemoriacultural, yexaminadoporlectoresespectadores. Atravésdeuna placentero paraserobservado enobjeto extremas desufrimiento,bienacallándolas,asimilándolasyconvirtiéndolas yliteraturacorren elriesgodeenmascararsituaciones la literaturaenactualidad.Arte incideenlaproblemáticaderepresentación y detodasestascuestionesenelarte artículo lashumanidadesylosmediosdedifusión,este tación delaguerrayviolenciaenlasartes, delateorizaciónactualsobreA partir estéticaydelosacaloradosdebatessobrelarepresen- RESUMEN KEY poetry, andhislongpoem mourning andtrauma,withinthedomainofculturalmemory, we takeStephen Spender’s ing itintoanobjectofpleasure forthe reader orspectator. With areflection onissues ing theextremity orreality ofsuffering,eitherbysuffocatingitorassimilatingandturn- (andliterature)anditscondition in theworldtoday,the issueofart alwaysatriskofmask- humanitiesandthemedia,thispaperengageswith sentation ofwarandviolenceinarts, Drawing fromcurrent theorizationonaestheticsandfromtheheateddebatesofrepre-

WORDS R

CLAVE Vienna EVISTA : War poetry, Stephen Spender, mourning,culturalmemory, melancholia,trauma. AESTHETICS OFREMEMBRANCEIN WHY MEMORIALIZE?STEPHEN SPENDER’S C : poesíadelaguerra,Stephen Spender, duelo,memoriacultural,melancolía, (1934)comoexponentedeprimerorden enelquelapérdida ysussecuelas ANARIA

DE 39 E STUDIOS Esther Sánchez-Pardo González Universidad ComplutensedeMadrid Vienna I where somehelplessoldmanwasbeing beatentodeath, NGLESES perhapsitwasinacaféover somefrontierwhere exiled (1934),asaprimeexponentofculturalproduction likethecore ofaragingfire. Perhaps itwasinacell at the very centre ofthisworld,someterribleplace atthevery , 63;November 2011,pp. 39-52;ISSN:0211-5913 Somewhere Ifeltthattherewasaplacewhich VIENNA 17/10/2011, 9:58 *

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 40 work ofmourning,throughwhichitispoliticizedinits capacity torepresent social, (Alpen 16). This iswhathecalls“performativity” kindsofart. ofcertain the objectofframing...butitalsofunctions,inturn,asaframeforculturalthought” isnotonly if theviewer iscompelled,oratleastinvited,tothinkwithit,thenart enact arelationship ofexchange andresponse withthespectator:“Ifart‘thinks’ and as not“independentofcontext” butashaving“an agencyofitsown” can,itseems, ethical function.However “autonomous” whichcriticErnstvanAlpendescribes art, its own functionasreflection, object,abstraction,itthuscannotfillasocialor to interpret“no afterAuschwitz” poetry asatotalizingclaim. ing of“poetry” withinthisdialecticiswhatoftenoverlooked bythosewhochoose final stageofthedialecticcultureandbarbarism” ( aswellto“culturalchallenge toart, criticism,”asAdorno putsit,istoface“the it orassimilatingandturningintoanobjectofpleasure forthespectator. The always atriskofmaskingtheextremity, orreality ofsuffering,eitherby“drowning” Adorno’s words, is “measured bytheextremitythateludesconcept.” is Thus, art turns disasterintopleasurableorseductive beauty, buttoathought,which,in derstanding” nottothekindofaestheticismthat becomesonewayoflinkingart tation, asanagentof“critical understanding” or“the subversionof[positivist]un- is barbaric,”( quently misunderstoodpost-World War IIdictum,“to afterAuschwitz writepoetry unavoidableeffortatunderstanding.Inof thenevertheless lightofAdorno’s fre- canincite,and illustrate,thenegation,failure, thesubversion xv). Assuch,art as reflective, asmerely “yield[ing] positive understanding” isundermined(qtd.Alpen suchthataviewofart of aestheticexperience)summonsthecriticalfacultiesart, understanding. Adorno’s conceptofnegativedialectics(orthenegativity crucial andliteraturesion onart situatingbothculturalproductionsasformsofcritical * Acknowledgements. Funded by MICINN(FFI2009-13454). Theodor Adorno’s In this paper I would like to argue that art can mourn, or at least perform a In canmourn,oratleastperform thispaperIwouldliketoarguethatart Unless takesontherole ofchallengingunderstanding,goingbeyond art Prisms 1. MEMORY, MOURNING,PERFORMATIVITY 40 34) the act of positioning art, oraestheticexpression/represen- 34)theactofpositioningart, Aesthetic Theory foritmademerealize thatthecentreofourtime andendured, ButatthisthoughtIwasappalled, approachit,Ifeltitwouldbethecentre where leaderswere plottingtoreturn. IfIcouldever thegreatest evilofourtimewasunderstood setsupthebasisforanycurrent discus- wasperhapstheviolent,incommunicable Stephen S Prisms 17/10/2011, 9:58 deathofaninnocentvictim. 34)—and theposition- PENDER , World 192-93. 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd tor W.H. Auden wouldwrite“poetry makesnothinghappen.” ofhisresignedpersonal articulation conviction,thatindeed,ashisfriendandmen- revealed asuselessor,and hisart worse,irrelevant. The poemoffersapowerful and With warseeminglyinevitable,Spender’s idealizingambitionshadcometogrief thataspired tohealasickworldandhelppreventmaking art anoncoming war. Spender’s own feelingsaboutborderingfailure,havingspentseveralyears artistic is necessarilyadepressingly realistic makessenseinthelightof one,andcertainly engaginglossandtrauma.Mypoem, andofallpoetry reading ofSpender’s ofthe math becomesconstitutiveoftheaesthetic,formal,andmaterialproperties ideologically ladenterrain.AsatentativeconclusionIarguethatlossanditsafter- period inEurope, drawingattentiontothecomplexityofrepresentation insuchan war by poetandessayistStephen Spender’s testimonialpoemsabouttheinterwar devotedto centres nature ofthelanguagepoetry specificallyontheperformative poetry, andthecasestudyIhave selectedtoengageindialoguewiththesetheories active response inthereader orbeholder. stood asbeingabletoact,enactaprocessofmourning,andbringaboutan human subjectsorbeingthoughttobe“like” thehumanpsyche, theycanbeunder- andliterature,of worksart suchthat,withoutnecessarilytakingtheplaceof sense notsomuchofsubjectivityasagency, reading Iamproposingaperformative such itbecomespossibletospeakofthe“work ofmourning” taken byahumansubject,orpersonsubjectedtobereavement andloss).Andas esses ofmourning(akintothegrievingprocess conventionallyunderstoodtobe and lossconsistingofthesimultaneousreflectionenactmentpsychic proc- throughitsowncan perform, (aesthetic)formandstructure, aresponse totrauma cultural andpoliticalhistoriesoftraumaticloss. What Iamsuggestingisthatart and processofgriefasaworkart. of theincorporationlossratherthangradualdetachmentfromalostobject. (lost) othertoshapethecontinuingself. Ifsothenotionof“Trauerarbeit” consists orendured bytion undertaken themourningsubjectinallowing therelation tothe thelabourofmourning;maybe“work”or perform consistsofthetransforma- Or rather,as theworkthatmourningperforms. perhapsgriefitselfdoesnot“work” which Iamtransformedbythelostother, then,may, inoneversion,beunderstood refusal orreluctancetoletgoofloss.Ultimately, thisprocess ofincorporationby mourning” ( “incorporation, originallyassociatedwithmelancholia,wasessentialtothetaskof languages, isdividedintotwocategories: Trabajo (Arbeit,travail)vs.Obra (Werk, oeuvre). and Melancholia.” The performative “work”The performative and“object” Ipresentinthispaperistakenfrom As Judith Butler hasauthoritativelypointedout,Freud cametoseethat 3 2 1 W.H. Auden includedthislineinhiswell-known elegy, “In Memory of W.B.Yeats,” 248. ItaketheEnglishlanguageconflationoftermwork thatinSpanish, amongother “Trauerarbeit” inFreudian language.Freud theorizeson“Trauerarbeit” in“Mourning Precarious 41 21).Melancholy incorporation,thus,maybereadasthe 2 But a Iamascribingtotheworkofart 17/10/2011, 9:58 1 3 bothasthelabour Vienna

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 42 struggle, which,inhisview,struggle, were stillfarfrom healing. Spender attemptstocometermswiththepsychic woundsinflictedbythecruel civil warstance, resist theonslaughtoftotalitarianism(171).Ratherthantakinganexplicitlyanti- itselfsufficientlyto this volumewaswhetherdemocracycouldmobilizeandassert Nazism. In John Sutherland’s view, issuesSpender oneofthecrucial confronted in nesses tothemassacreofciviliansandsocialistfreedom fightersagainsttheriseof politicalurgencyandhispoemsactedaswit- to identifyacaseofoverwhelming isa process onforgetting. thatdependscrucially incorporating loss,memory and mourningare intimatelyconnected;ifmourningistheparadoxical processof as forprocesses ofculturalmemory, andtheconditionsofmelancholygrief. Memory It appearsasthoughthis can bearguedfortheemergenceofego/subject,aswell originliesataplaceofinevitableloss,”Foucaultloss, ofnarrative.“The writes(143). tural memory, asBal failure, conceives it,isconstitutedbytraumaand or thevery which cancontributeto“the emergenceofnarrative” (x). Thus, the “origin” ofcul- inter-relational formsofrememberingandtakingaccountthepast“acts ofmemory,” “master”necessarily somethingtheselfcanpossessorotherwise (ix).Bal callsthese “drama” oftraumaticmemory, inwhichtheselfmayhave beenan“actor,” isnot tion, andnarrative splittingoffassociatedwithtrauma,”inorder tosuggestthatthe or comprehensive versions ofnarrative withthe“‘timeless’ duration,relentless repeti- difficulty of“incorporatingtraumaintonarrative memory” (xiii).Bal juxtaposeslinear and ...situatedinthepresent”) isshattered by traumatic memory, aswell asbythe “narrative memories” (whichare “memorable,” “affectively coloured,” and“active stances, suchactsare notconsciouslyandwillfullycontrived” (vii). that cultural memory is also preserved inpoetry isalsopreserved that culturalmemory such astheelegy, whichhave traditionallybeenassociatedtomourninganddeath. memory focusingonthecollective. ripewithinstancesinwhich isparticularly memory The twentiethcentury pen tobeabearer, butsomethingthatyouactually Further, Bal arguesthat“cultural recall isnotmerely somethingofwhichyouhap- the past—momentsthatnonethelessimpinge,sometimesfatally, onthepresent.” “totial ofculturalmemory mediateandmodifydifficultortabooedmomentsof activity occuringinthepresent andfuture.”In particular, Bal drawsonthepoten- Our aiminthispaperwouldbetoshow how Spender in Framing intermsofnarrative,Bal suggeststhattherelationality memory of At this point I would like to turn our attention to poetry inorderAt tosuggest thispoint Iwouldliketoturnourattentionpoetry 4 Along thesamelines,Mieke Bal, describes“cultural memorializationasan hasactedasareservoirThere forcultural inwhichpoetry are manyinstancesinhistory 2. SPENDER’S 42 Vienna MEMORY BECOMESPERSONAL insistsuponfacingthecivilians’ livedexperienceofwar. VIENNA : WHEN “POLITICAL” : WHEN 4 andthatthere are poeticgenres, perform 17/10/2011, 9:58 , evenif, inmanyin- Vienna managed 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd out thatwarisnotsimplyatragicevent, oftragedy. itactuallyfitsthestructure ticulated theknowledge hehadgainedfrom thatexperience.But thelinealsopoints form ofpity. In hiscase,emotionalresponse tothosetraumaticevents bestar- that, forOwen,theprofound knowledge ofdeaththatwarhadtaughthimtookthe wounds ofwar. One waytoread thephrase“the pitywardistilled” is toconsider hehastotell—iswhatthepowerwith him,andit—thetruth tohealthe untold,/ mean thetruth The pityofwar, thepitywardistilled.”His testimonydies ing, hedoesnotwanttobemournedforhisdeath,butwhatdiedwithhim:“I killed, myfriend.”Insofar asthedeadman,now facinghiskiller, demandsmourn- English. Owenstagesthissceneasamomentofrecognition: “Iamtheenemyyou theorize inthePreface tohisbook:twosoldiersmeetinHell, oneGerman, andone addresses thematicallyin“Strange Meeting,” thesameconceptsthatheattemptsto 7). Owen,fromthegenerationofpoetsGreat War, ness ofthetigress. None willbreak ranks,thoughnationstrek fromprogress”( from Wilfred Owen’s “Strange Meeting” willbeswiftwithswift- asepigraph;“They work inEnglish devotedtotheevent. Itonly majorliterary openswithapassage occurred. This wassocialism’s firstbattleanditsdefeat. tionists inFebruary 1934inAustria, where Spender afterit hadtravelledshortly 1934. The poemfocusesontheeventsthatledtodefeatofsocialistinsurrec- My suggestionistolookintoStephen Spender’s longpoem Charlotte Delbo, CharlesReznikoff,Charlotte Delbo, W.D. Snodgrass, andCzeslaw Milosz. Akhmatova, Denise Levertov, andHolocaust ofPaul withthework poetry Celan,Miklós Radnóti, Owen andSiegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, to W.H. Auden, Spender, C.Day-Lewis, Anna ondifferent hascometothefore fronts from asinthecaseofwarpoetry Wilfredtraumatic memory time andplace,itisbesttoforgetitssuffering” ( edies, tragedyisajoy totheman who dies...Ifwarisnecessary, inour ornecessary proclamation that“passive sufferingisnotathemeforpoetry. In allthegreat trag- tion oftheirwriting. Yeats dismissedtheirwork—Owen’s his inparticular—with traditional memorialtothewardead,leddirectly to W.B. Yeats’ well-known rejec- Herbert Read’s threaten whichisburiedinthatexperience. tobecomeunbearableinanattemptconfrontatruth emotionsdownoverwhelming totheiressence.He soughtoutthepoint atwhichthosefeelings Owen clearlyidentifiedthepower function,itsabilitytodistill ofhiswritingwithitscathartic include Rupert Brooke, Siegfried Sassoon, Julian Grenfell, Herbert Read, andRobert Graves. addressed thedevastation andsufferingofthewarouttheirown experienceinwhichweshould tuously calledOwen“a revered sandwich-board Man oftherevolution” ( Wilfred Owen. and Edmund Blunden’s “Report onExperience.” The mostnotable exclusionfrom theanthology is Sassoon’s “On Passing theNew Menin Gate” (writtenafterthe war), Julian Grenfell’s “Into Battle” as awhole.He poemswrittenby other soldiers. does,nevertheless,includeafew They are Siegfried 6 5 The warpoets’ refusal totreat deathinwarasheroic,oreventooffera 7 In hisintroduction to “Pity” isakeytermfor Wilfred Given Owen. thedeliberateclassical reference oftheterm, We identifyagenerationofsoldierpoets—usuallycalledtrench cancertainly poets—who The End ofa War 43 forthework whichhefindsmore representative ofthetrench poets The Oxford BookofModern Verse Oxford , Yeats explains thathesubstitutes , xxiv-xxv). 5 andmuchread bySpender, Vienna 17/10/2011, 9:58 Vienna 7 Yeatscontemp- constitutesthe , publishedin Vienna Letters 6

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 44 cludes narrativepassages:itdoesnottellthewholestory, itignores chronology, and oftheuprisingasaboutmythology.history It isnotanarrative,thoughitin- was trampledonpublicly, privateaffectionwasalsoundermined” ( validity oftheonewasdependentonthatother:for inaworldwherehumanity intense, emotionalandpersonal,althoughtheonewaspublic, theotherprivate. The meant toshow thatthetwoexperienceswere different, yetrelated. For theybothwere alsoitwasconcernedwithalovepersonal experience,“[B]utinpart relationship, I phy, er’s love affairwithanAmericanwomanwhomhecallsElizabeth inhisautobiogra- with thispublicmaterialandawkwardly associatedwithit,thepoempresentsSpend- the socialistmayorofBurck-an-der-Mur andleaderofthesocialistsinAustria. Along theheroicparticularly episodesofthecapture, trial,andkillingofKalloman Wallisch, andpresentsparts, imagesofthepoliticallifeAustria anddetailsofthefighting, suffering itentails. a formofrepression, allowing theculture toreifythesacrificesof war anddenythe others, suchasSpender, express theconcernthataestheticizationofpaincanbe providedhealing; whileforthewarpoetsart ameansofworkingthroughtrauma, expressionformation ofpainintoanartistic cantakemanyformsandisnotalways they haddissociatedwhiletheeventwasactuallyoccurring.Nevertheless, thetrans- means ofrepresentation—was oneoftheirrecoverable lossesofthewar. and patriotism—conceptsforwhich,uptothewar, literature hadbeenamajor the newfoundconvictionthattheirpriorbeliefinabstractconceptssuchasheroism level oftragedy?”It istragedywhichhasfailedthewarpoets. discloses Their poetry responseand thecathartic itevokes intheaudience. rather theemphasisinclassicaldramaisuponrepresentation ofsufferingitself, edy doesnotfinallyrest uponanactiveformofsuffering—aheroicself-sacrifice— becausepassivesufferingisnottragic.Butto poetry theAristoteliannotionoftrag- matic issues;hearguedthatthesepoets’ themeofpassivesufferingwasnotproper the values war. thatsupport His criticismdeliberatelyconflatedformalandthe- faulted thetrench poetsforfailingtoensurethattheirwritinghelpedreinscribe trench poetswasseenasadirect effectofthelyricform.In effect, Yeats’s argument ence ofwar. The precedence giventothepersonalsufferingofsoldiersby the move beyond thelyricform,whichwasunabletocontainorexpress thefullexperi- that theyfailedtorepresent theGreat War adequatelybecausetheirwritingdidnot critiques ofthispoeticgenerationhavecentred ontheissueofpoeticform,arguing tobeconsideredquestion ofwhatisrequired tragic.From forpoetry Yeats onward, poets and Yeats’s exclusion ofthemfrom ceptions ofwarpoetry. Atissueinthemodernistdebatesurrounding thetrench the degree offorce thatwasrequired torepulse theirchallengetotraditionalcon- of thewarpoetsindicatesbothdepthresistance tothetrench poetsand 124), andomittedhimentirely from World Within World As Samuel Hynes isapoemnotso much aboutthe pointsout,“Vienna Vienna For became aspaceforexpressing theemotionswhich thewarpoets,poetry didtheirwritingfailtoattainthe At thispoint,thequestionisnot,“Why , Stephen Spender’s firstbook-longnarrativepoem,isdividedinfour 44 . In hisview, mustalwaysengagewithsomelevelof poetry The Oxford BookofModern Verse The Oxford BookofModern Verse 17/10/2011, 9:58 World . His rejection 192). isthe 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd microcosm oftheAustrian capital,where theoldgrandeurmixes withthenew, and, meets thetime” ( own personalsenseof Vienna.” (24).In Vienna, Spender place proclaims“The it doesnotexplain. What Spender seemstohaveaimedatwasthe expression ofhis knows nofriends. dialectic oftheoneisolatedamongmany, evenifthosearefriends,sincethewar this lastsectioncontinuetheiralmostmonologicalexchange withnosynthesis:the sectioninthepoem,“Analysisfourth andFinal Statement.” The fivevoiceswithin statement thatSpender roundsupwithametacommentary, corresponding tothe underground lifeofBerlin,andnow, in1934, he wasinthefrontline writer musttakerisks—itwasinthisspiritthatSpender introducedhimselfinthe forthemodernwriter.he identifiedthree principlesasnecessary First, themodern ing acorporateestate. cial level were banned,andtheMay Constitutionof1934wasdeclared, establish- all representative bodiesledby theSocial Democrats onthemunicipal and provin- country. Asaresult oftheuprisings,Social DemocraticParty, tradeunionsand Wallisch, K.Münichreier amongthemostprominent),otherswere abletofleethe heeded. Several leadersoftheprotestmovement were executed (G. Weissel, K. failed mainlybecausethegeneralstrikecalledby theSocial Democrats went un- force. all ofwhichwere bymilitary crushed The unorganisedprotest movement arrested. party members oftheSocialhad beendismissed,andseveralnoteworthy Democratic cellor Dollfus totakeactionagainstMarxists, theheadsofChamberLabour poem). Preceding theraid,Mussolini hadrepeatedly calledontheAustrian Chan- inthe armed forceconductedbytheirpoliticaladversariesinLinz(“Hotel Schiff” resistedwar whentheSocial aweaponsraidwith headquarters Democratic party government, ontheother, escalatedbetweenFebruary 12and15,1934toacivil tion (prohibitedin1933)ononesideandChristian-Socialists, inotherwords the 1934. The differences betweentheSocial Democrats andtheRepublican organisa- provided aprivilegedvantage pointtoreflect uponthefuture ofEurope. nificance ofAustria onthestreets andthestruggle of Vienna in1934certainly tended todemonstratehewasguidedby thesethree principles. The historicalsig- glossed aspoliticalsubject.Upon completinghislongpoem, Element tically distinct. The third necessity, towhichthefinalsectionof thingwastoforgeastylebothpoliticallysubversive andartis- The secondnecessary isdevoted,“proper subject,”andincreasinglyforSpender thiscouldbe In In We saythat cancertainly His real lifeafadinglighthisrealdeathgrowing. ( Whether thisman’s deadlife,orthatman’s lifedying Whether themanlivingordying The conflictinLinzwasfollowed byuprisingsin Vienna andotherareas, The poemisdevotedtotheuprisingsinseveral Austrian citiesinFebruary The Destructive Element Vienna 45 17).He playswiththeideasoflifeanddeathwithin , thebookSpender waswritingalongside Vienna engages also in some sort oftheoretical engagesalsoinsomesort 17/10/2011, 9:58 Vienna Vienna The Destructive 13) , Spender in- Vienna Vienna , .

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 46 by thereality, assimilate suchdisparateexperiences:the“crystal bowl” ofthelove affairisflawed he wouldreturn tothememoriesof Vienna andrecognizethathismindwillnot crease [his]senseofguilt” ( their explanations,“which made[his]‘psychology’ responsible didnotactuallyin- foreverything, World WithinWorld beth, becauseitconflictedwithhisfeelingsanddutiestoward thissecretary, T.A.R. Hyndman. In the usualcomradeshipamongmen, rolesandtheirrelationsgobeyond of how menandwomenplaycomplementary in Spender’s life.For thefirsttimehefallsinlove withawomanandbecomesaware his firstvisitinthemid1930s. This isaperiodofprofoundandsignificantchanges Jimmy Younger andElizabeth, asweknow from love trianglewith Tony Hyndman andMuriel Gardiner (underthepseudonyms to amore intimatedimensioninwhichthepoetfindshimselfmiddleofa clandestine activitiesandoscillatesbetweenthepoliticalpersonalmoving Dollfuss, Fey andStarhemberg. The poemsignalsthebeginningofsocialist due totheabuseofpower andthepoliticalupheaval againstfascismanditsleaders, confronts theemotionsfollowing thesuppression of theSocialist Party inAustria Executive,” Death ofHeroes” “The and“Analysis andFinal Statement.” Spender ments beyondhisfirstinitialdesign.Lateron,inanewproject, ofhisown sentimentalaffair,story andhadbeenunabletomove thesetwoele- ( take place:theonlypeoplewhoattaineditwere themurderers andthemurdered” outer one.Perhaps theworldinwhichIwaslivingtooterribleforthisfusionto situation, andattainaunitywhere theinnerpassionbecomesinseparablefrom poemfailsbecauseitdoesnotfusethetwohalvesofasplit never gottofuse“The World 192).In 8 human contacts,thatistosay, through experiencewithwomen.( pointunlessIwere abletoenterastreambeyond acertain ofnature through perhaps ifitberealized sterilityifitberealized...Icouldnotdevelop acertain ifitbenotrealized;ized destruction, thatself-identificationleadstofrustration need forarelationship withsomeonedifferent, indeedopposite,tomyself. Ireal- Love forafriendexpressed aneedforself-identification. Love forawoman,the Part I“Arrival attheCity” on reports Vienna asperceived by thepoetupon But ( wastheunemployed whostarved. Baroque frozenindolphinattitudes Was notentirely love noreven bowl,Within wherelife thegoldencrystal There wasreality, theflaw Vienna Spender finallyread In Vienna isdividedintofoursections:“Arrival attheCity,” “Parade ofthe , welearnthatElizabeth andSpender discussedhisguilt,andhewondered whether Vienna 46 , astrong sentimentofguiltarose forSpender outofhislove affairwithEliza- World , Spender oftheworkerswith hadtriedtofusethestory 197). Vienna asafailure, acompositeoftwosplithalvesthat 8 Edge World Within World 21) 17/10/2011, 9:58 The Edge ofBeing World 192). 185) , 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd and political parties areand politicalparties thusneutralized now asmuchtheywillbeinthefuture, ture, circulationofbiasedpropaganda. The workersandtheirgrassrootsmovements come toknow Dollfuss’ fascistmethods:elimination ofhispoliticalenemies,tor- peace andorder. Beneath theappearancesofabsenceconflictandharmony, we quo. He triestoconcealthefrequent outbreaksofviolenceunderlyingafaçade organizing parades,holdingupflags,withavestedinterest inmaintaining thestatus regime,the new manipulatingthetruth,callingonauthorityofancestors, city fromoppositeviews. The Executive justifiestheillegitimateseizure ofpower by are thetwomaincharacterswhoseexchange tellsabouttheconditionsoflifein fully-fledged fasciststatein Vienna in1934. The “Executive” andthe“Unemployed” dying” (13). the manlivingordying,/ Whether thisman’s deadlife,orthatman’s life ofpeaceinthepastanddisloyaltymemory toward thedead. ( have imposedontheimaginationofposteritya“legendtheirunitybeing.” passedunnoticedwhentheywere living”symbolic significancewhichcertainly and Still Centre known poem,“Exiles from Their Land,History Their Domicile,” apoemin (11); andtheimageissourceofideaSpender developslaterinhiswell- likelampsthroughtheorangefog,withaglazed eye/courtesy Canpreach still” these twoinstances,thepoetsayshechooses“the whollydead,”andadds,“Their the deathofhero are an“Openingtolifelikeaflower himoverarching” (10).Of force theparadoxthatlifeofpatron isinsignificantwhilethewoundsand revealing dialoguefromthewomenresidents ofthePension, thepoemproceedsto with Wallisch, whomhemakestheheroofrising.Aftersomefragmentsself- beautiful” laydeadwhile thevulgarianlivedon,andhecompares himimplicitly sion Beaurepas,where hispatronbringstothepoet’s mindthat“many menso not easilynoticeable. employ andthusthemovements concreteimagery; fromonethingtoanotherare outside objectiveworldanddescriptionofinward may sentiments;bothefforts revolutionaries massacred bythenewregime. His strength andresilience isstill difference, stillshows ofthe courageanddetermination,retains thememory Collected Part II,“Parade oftheExecutive”(14-27) ofa illustratestheconstruction Finally, Part Icloseswiththesamelinesasthoseitopenedwith:“Whether “Arrival attheCity” presents uswithanalmostdomesticsceneatthePen- Throughout thepoem,there isanoscillationbetween descriptionofthe quality thatthenewworkingclasstenementswillsoonfallto pieces.”(17-18) buildingmaterialsusedbythesocialistmunicipalityare ofsuchinferior “The “And when thosehouseswere putupwesaid “So wekilledtheworkerstosaveworkers— “Tenements were afortress builtbytheworkers ... Wesay Vienna The Unemployed, relegated government bythenew toinvisibilityandin- 14).It isnotdeathwe fear, thepoemgoeson,butdisloyalty toanideal , inwhichthedead,hisown words, have“obtained fortheirlivesa 47 17/10/2011, 9:58 The

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 48 of thosewhosuffered remainsinthetestimoniesweare given: andharshcritique. oscillate betweenblindobediencetothemilitary The experience andlistentoawiderangeofanonymousvoices which the effectsoflocalstruggles, and theresistanceofworkers andtheirleaders. wewitness Throughout thispart of thesecruelactionsis Vice-Chancellor Fey. to hisgrave andtothegraves oftheotherdeadrevolutionaries. The manincharge hisdeath,andfinallyhow sympathizersthen hisdefenseincourt, broughtflowers Wallisch tothemountainsandhow hewashunteddown andcaughtbyski-patrols, and meditatesuponthecausesofitsfailure. The poemdescribestheretreat of thissection. asks, returning attheend tothesenseofobsessiveguiltthatpervades “Wouldpolitical scene,whoisobjectiveandimpartial. heforgiveus?”thepoem Spenderend ofthispart, introducesafigure called The Stranger, ofthe theobserver “Memory ofskyasbluewoman’s veins /But withveinsofred, ...”(18).At the Day celebrating” (18).Mention toMay Dayinstantlytriggerstheworkofmemory, sing? /Andtheremoved asactively asonamovie screen /Before theireyestheMay didonedying,amongtheirwounded,/In adarkgroaningattic,suddenly “Why fortherepresentativesdisconcerting oflawandorder, aswhentheyaskthemselves, man saying/‘Here theinsurrection ends,here revolution begins’” (24-25). ians, andthedestructionoftown, gestures toward beginning, “...asthe anew ers´ barracksandthehand-to-handcombatonstreets. The massacre ofcivil- the building,andthreatened tofire onthem. The workerssurrendered” (24). latter: “At SchlingerHof, thepolice drove outallthewomenandchildren infront of moments ofconfrontationbetween fascistsandworkers, thesurrender ofthe itself forstrategicmistakesandmiscalculations(21-22). The poemglossesthelast also mentionssometreacherous leadersoftheworkers movement andthemovement now suffocated. The poetblamesthefascistsandtheirrepressive methods,andhe oftheproletarianloss ofthementortured andkilled,thecrushing movement This sectionaimsatmemorializingthedefeated,massacre ofcivilians In Part DeathofHeroes,” III,“The thepoetidentifieswithrevolution The poetremembers theepisodeatFlorisdorf, work- theuprisings infactory DeathofHeroes”“The canbeunderstoodasapoemofgrief, mourningthe “I wasfedbythesetraitors.Now killme.”(25) “I forsooktheworkers tokilltheworkersbecause outarms“Irefusetosendmentheslaughterhouse.”(23-24) toserve “[A}t Meidling ourleaderrefused Andseemysonlieddead. That wasat12.”(23) theiceechoesso.’ It“‘When wasnojoketohear “‘Making hisbigthudintoFebruary howitzers begin’.“‘The ‘Ha!’ That isFey’s joke “I turnedandspoketomyson.He said‘Listen, we fired down. “From otherwindows 48 17/10/2011, 9:58 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd he hadalwayslivedupto, ofconfession,onepriortohissacrificefortheideals ofhislifeassomesort the story lice andwasexecuted onFebruary 19,1934. of WallischThe memory isretrieved in sentenced todeath.He waschargedwithhavinginstigatedabattleagainstthepo- thereafter and hewasplacedbeforefied andimprisoned,shortly martial acourt withdraw intothemountainswithagroupofmen.Afterfewdayshewasidenti- such feelingwasbeingmuffled“inthelatestkindofpoetic diction.”(qtd. Weather- Vienna image...” (158).EdwinMuir, oneofSpender’s mostsensitive critics,arguedthatin of therevolution,” whoseinabilityproduced in Vienna, “a remoteness, acoldnessof Tom Wintringham foundSpender “unable toassociatehimselfwith thelivingstuff attributedtotheaffiliationof Spenderthe imagesinpart withotherpoliticalpoets. arguments thatlegitimisetheirstruggle. workers’ale behindtherevolutionary movement andexpoundsthereasons communalstruggle”necessary (90). The poetjustifiestheobjectivesandration- the endofsectionIII: But thefallenworldafterdefeatisnolongeraplaceforheroes. What follows is plants andflowers asmetaphorsthatconjure upimagesofresilience andrebirth. flowers.” (29). ofthedeadandburied.Spender theearth This iscertainly uses when lightspelled/Its crested certainty, thepolice,afraidofdaisies/trampled built /Upon theirearththewaveofanewworld/From flowers: eachmorning there wasnonaturalvoice andnothingseemedtobe felt withdefiniteness, We are toldthatwhenthefederalarmymoved Wallisch forward, hadto The majorityofthereviewers of According toDavidLeeming,Spender makesroom for“the riseofanew They changedeath’s signalhonourforalifeofmoles.(30) Assuming roles; cells,ignorantoftheirleaders, Constructing Burrowing without‘tasks survivors froheroes’: Lucky thosewhowere killedoutright;unluckythose The finallinesofthissectiontakeupthepromise ofregeneration, “We “Ready tosacrificeoneself, eventolaydown one’s life” (28) “one mustbeready todoall, “Because Ifoughtfortheworkersasfaithfully, “To theircause.Ihaveenemiesonly serve “I havedevotedmywholelifetotheworkers “And gainedsomedistinction. Ihavebeenasocialist. “From 1914to1917Ifoughtinthe War “And sawoppression oftheworkers. “I mademytravelsinAustria andGermany “At 16Ibecameanassistantandatage17 “I wasexploitedevenasachild. “At theageof11Ibecameamason’s apprentice 49 Vienna concentratedtheirobjectionson 17/10/2011, 9:58

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 50 Is atowering pillarofdustwhichsucks/ ofaworld intoitscolumn”The ruin (56). volume, “Time inour Time,” Spender writes,“Oh savemeinthisday, whenNow/ we are exposedtothe‘destructive dust.’ In thelaststanzaofpoem Now, tothefallenanddevastatedworldofmassacreswar, andasacorollary of theoldcity;but“seeming permanence wasanillusion,”and 1947” proceeds tolinkthepoet’s love affairwiththearchitecture andthesculpture so. In hisnextbookofpoems, is noreason toattributethisalackofanengagedresponse inpolitics. self-conscious restraint, andSpender’s imagesmayseemremote andcold,butthere head 71). This mufflingwasprobably intentional.In thepoemthere iscertainlya a continuity between the ruined world and the visionary from worldandthevisionary a continuitybetweentheruined communism, ontheother;there istheworldofwillandthatsensibility, there is good andbeautifulthings,nature andculture, ontheonehand,andprogress flict, butfindsnewtermsandimages:intheearlypoemsthere are traditionally volumes hadvariouslyrevealed. We couldevensayitis,ingeneral,thesamecon- poems. raids thatSpender witnessedasafireman atthetimeofwritingsomethese recalls theshowers ofacriddustthatfollowed theexplosion ofbombsintheair dier poets,leaveitsmarkuponliterature justasithadleftitsmarkuponthosewho Spender recognized thatthetraumaofwarwould,throughwritingsol- speak tothesoldier’sto makeEnglishpoetry experience.From early oninhiscareer, taking over fromtheprevious generationofpoetstheGreat War andcontinuing speak ofthewar. Spender sawhisown writingasanattempttobridgethatgap, by wasnotyetfitto inhiscontentionthatEnglishpoetry the entire fieldofpoetry believed thatthisresponsibility impacted, notonlyuponhisown work,butupon mal considerationsasdiction,tone,imagery, andpoeticform.More radically, Spender represent thatexperienceisoneofSpender’s foremost concerns,dictatingsuchfor- trauma ofthewarandlosssomanylives? The responsibility tofindaway providegeneration: how mightpoetry anadequateresponse tothetremendous what is,forSpender, oneofthemostimportantquestionsraisedbypoetshis In In The Still Centre In otherpoemsofthisvolume,dustappearsagainasthedestroyer. One And burstthrough citiesandbreakdown theirwalls( To visions shatterhistory-frozen The dustavitalinward springwithpower toourtimedustblowingtrue intodust dust ...what wasreal wastransitory The relationship between poetry anditsaudienceisdirectlyThe relationship implicatedin betweenpoetry 3. CONCLUSION: THE NECESSITY TO MEMORIALIZE Vienna 50 , Spender wantedtokeepthepastinviolate;butitwasnotbe introduces ustonewconflictsthatSpender’s foregoing The Still Centre , thepiece“Returning to Vienna, 17/10/2011, 9:58 Edge 22) Ruins and Visions . 04 SÁNCHEZ-PARDO.pmd sexes are thevalidflowers /Sprinkled acrossthe total worldandwet/ With night” ( / That feedsonkissing. Loving lemons./Our istheirconqueror/Thatturnsallsunshine,fructifying (head /AndhairofblacksilkybeastsHow admirableitis/ inrain They offerasurfacebrightasfruit lows insection four:“Ithinkoftenofawoman/withdarkeyesneglected,demandingturnthe elegiac quality also hadtosayfarewell toalove relationship nevertobefulfilled.Apart fromthe the massacre onthestreets of Vienna andthe loss ofinnocentcivilianlives,buthe terial” (qtd.Sutherland, 173).In ourview, notonlydidSpender have todealwith 1934, “MrSpender, wecannothelpfeeling,isinasensetooinvolvedhisma- Parson’s review wrote ofthepoempublishedinNovember inthefirstimportant Spender wasoverwhelmed withthenegativereaction to from an objective situatedsomewhere viewpoint outsideoftheunfoldingevents. enna asoverwhelming anddifficulttocomprehend cognitively, muchlessseeit battles,Spendercome ofimportant presents hisexperienceoftheuprisingsin Vi- overunderstanding ofhistory acomprehensive one;ratherthanrecord theout- course thathasbeenravagedbytrauma.His emphasizesanexperiential poetry different relationship navigatesavery tohistory,poetry makingitswaythrougha asthefulfillmentofwar’s andhistory tor ofhistory promise.Instead, Spender’s their own historicaljustification.In suchwriting,warisrepresented astheguaran- as is,tonarratetheeventsofbattlesothattheyserve self-authorizing history—that they themselveshardly recognized whatwashappening. not bespokenwasbecausesuchthingsshouldtalkedabout,but language. The mainreasonwhythe“unspeakable” agoniesoftheirexperiencecould impact ofthewarasmore primarilyafailure ofcomprehension thanafailure of fordescribingwar.vocabulary However, theirwritingalsospeakstothetraumatic language, forexpressing thatexperience.Outoftheirpoetry, theyforgedanew the radicaldisjuncture between theirexperienceofwarandthetraditionalpoetic coming totermswiththeirexperience. The warpoetswere highlyself-consciousof ferring meaningontoone’s ataradicallossforwayof life,thewarlefteveryone ofboththeirmeaningandfunctioncon- nationalism, patriotismandtruth thatpreceded them.Becausetion ofwarpoetry thewarhademptiedouttermslike far sideoftheabysshistory. The warhasforever sundered themfromthetradi- vidual: asanirrevocable break. The writingsofthewarpoetsare positionedonthe inthesamewaythatthoseare experiencedbyanindi- upon thefieldofpoetry lived throughit.Significantly, traumaandmemorializationareprocesses inscribed poetry inthosetroubledtimes. poetry but meditative,itreaches audiencesasatestcaseonthescopeandvalue ofpolitical ment andfulfilstheprojectofgeneration1930s,nolongerdocumentary After theunanimousfavourableresponse ofthecriticsto Up totheGreat War, wastorecord functionofwarpoetry a theprimary 9 This elegiacqualityalsoshows insectionsdevoted to Muriel Gardiner, suchaswhatfol- 9 ofseveral sectionsinthepoem, 51 Vienna standsasahistoricalmonu- Vienna 17/10/2011, 9:58 (1934).AsI.M. Poems Vienna (1933), , 33-34).

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ESTHER SÁNCHEZ-PARDO GONZÁLEZ 52 B W F B —— —— S F —— —— —— O —— Y —— L A A S —— F W —— A H UTHERLAND PENDER REUD OUCAULT ELMAN EEMING EATS UTLER AL UDEN LPEN DORNO WEN YNES INTRINGHAM EATHERHEAD , Mieke. “Introduction.” . William B.,ed. An OutlineofPsychoanalysis The Psychic Life ofPower World within World Vienna. The Oxford BookofModern Verse 1892-1935 The EdgeofBeing Prisms The Still Centre h om fWilfred Owen The Poems of , Ernst van. , Sigmund. “Mourning andMelancholia.” , Wilfred. , Samuel. , Wystan Hugh. “In of Memory W.B.Yeats.” , Judith. , Shoshana, andDori L . Stephen. , Theodor. , David. Crewe andLeoSpitzer. Hanover: UPofNew England, 1999.vii-xvii. 1998. 1940. 1979. 2005. choanalysis nalysis, 1953-1974. 237-258. Freud 1974. James Strachey23. Ed. etal.London: 1953- The Hogarth andtheInstituteofPsychoanalysis, , Michel. . Trans. andSamuel Shierry Weber. Cambridge:MITP, 1981. , John. New York:Library,Modern The 1935. , A.Kingsley. , Tom. “Artists inUniform.” . Vol 14.Ed.James Strachey etal.London: The Hogarth andtheInstitute ofPsychoa- PrecariousLife The Auden Generation: Literature andPolitics inEngland inthe1930s The CompletePoems andFragments Stephen Spender: ALife inModernism Art andMind: How Contemporary Images Shape Though Language, Counter-memory, Practice Collected Poems 1928-53 Stephen Spender: The Authorised Biography Aesthetic Theory 52 . New York: Routledge, 1992. . London:Faber &Faber, 1939. . New York: RandomHouse, 1949. Letters onPoetry from W.B.Yeats toDorothy Wellesley . London:Hamish Hamilton, 1951. Stephen Spender andthe Thirties Acts Cultural ofMemory: Recall inthePresent . Stanford: Stanford UP, 1997. . London: Verso, 2004. AUB . . Ed. Edmund Blunden. London: The New ClassicSeries, 1949. The StandardThe Edition oftheComplete Works ofSigmund Freud . . Ed. Robert Hullot-Kentor. Minneapolis: UofMinnesotaP, Testimony: Crises of Witnessing inPhilosophy, Literature andPsy- WORKS CITED . London:Faber &Faber, 1955. Left Review The Standard EditionoftheComplete The Works ofSigmund . New York: Oxford UP, 1937. . Ed. John Stallworthy. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1983. Collected Poems .

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