Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on the poetry of four major voices in the Spanish lyric of today, Judith Nantell explores the epistemic works of Luis Muñoz, Abraham Gragera, Josep M. Rodríguez, and Ada Salas, arguing that, for them, the poem is the fundamental means of exploring the nature of both knowledge and poetry. In this first interpretive analysis of the epistemic nature of their poetry, Nantell innovatively engages these poets, each of whom has contributed one of their own poems along with a previously unpublished explication of their chosen poem. Each also provides an original biographical sketch to support Nantell’s development of a poetics of epiphany.
Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.
Trade Review"Judith Nantell's
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today is a fantastic addition to scholarship on Spanish contemporary poetry. This is an incredibly original and multifaceted work, and the combination of scholarly analyses with contributions from the authors themselves and their poetry makes this
a highly original and perceptive piece of work." -- Diana Cullell * editor, Spanish Contemporary Poetry: An Anthology *
“Judith Nantell’s
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today is a significant work of criticism that brings to light current lyric innovations in Spain, with particular attention to the epistemic strain in the work of four very recent poets: Luis Muñoz, Abraham Gragera, Josep M. Rodríguez, and Ada Salas. Nantell’s primary argument is that these four share a vision of their art as a process and a movement towards a state of acute realization and insight into their chosen art and, indeed, into the nature of reality. Nantell shows the four to be authors of a “universalist” lyric poetry, written in Spanish across and beyond borders, and fueled – but not limited by -- literary canon, tradition, and artistic influence. This study exhibits a wealth of insights and original observations, bolstered and fortified by the critical armature reflective of the depth and extension of Judith Nantell’s research.” -- Sylvia Sherno * co-editor, Contemporary Spanish Poetry: The Word and the World *
"The book is a major contribution to an understanding of the contemporary Spanish lyric, apt for a general audience, specialists in contemporary Spanish literature, and as a model for introducing new poets in graduate classes. In a sense, the study is itself epiphanic. One reads the delimited analyses of just four poets and then somewhat surprisingly realizes that the study offers a clearly defined road map leading into the core of the contemporary Spanish lyric." * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *
"
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today offers an enthusiastic celebration of the work of four contemporary Spanish poets....Those in search of an introduction to the work of four poets that highlights each poet’s voice through the inclusion and discussion of biographical statements, poetics, poems, and auto-analyses, though, will undoubtedly find this book to be a valuable resource and point of entry into the work of these four poets." * Studies in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Literature *
"Judith Nantell's
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today is a fantastic addition to scholarship on Spanish contemporary poetry. This is an incredibly original and multifaceted work, and the combination of scholarly analyses with contributions from the authors themselves and their poetry makes this
a highly original and perceptive piece of work." -- Diana Cullell * editor, Spanish Contemporary Poetry: An Anthology *
“Judith Nantell’s
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today is a significant work of criticism that brings to light current lyric innovations in Spain, with particular attention to the epistemic strain in the work of four very recent poets: Luis Muñoz, Abraham Gragera, Josep M. Rodríguez, and Ada Salas. Nantell’s primary argument is that these four share a vision of their art as a process and a movement towards a state of acute realization and insight into their chosen art and, indeed, into the nature of reality. Nantell shows the four to be authors of a “universalist” lyric poetry, written in Spanish across and beyond borders, and fueled – but not limited by -- literary canon, tradition, and artistic influence. This study exhibits a wealth of insights and original observations, bolstered and fortified by the critical armature reflective of the depth and extension of Judith Nantell’s research.” -- Sylvia Sherno * co-editor, Contemporary Spanish Poetry: The Word and the World *
"The book is a major contribution to an understanding of the contemporary Spanish lyric, apt for a general audience, specialists in contemporary Spanish literature, and as a model for introducing new poets in graduate classes. In a sense, the study is itself epiphanic. One reads the delimited analyses of just four poets and then somewhat surprisingly realizes that the study offers a clearly defined road map leading into the core of the contemporary Spanish lyric." * Bulletin of Spanish Studies *
"
The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today offers an enthusiastic celebration of the work of four contemporary Spanish poets....Those in search of an introduction to the work of four poets that highlights each poet’s voice through the inclusion and discussion of biographical statements, poetics, poems, and auto-analyses, though, will undoubtedly find this book to be a valuable resource and point of entry into the work of these four poets." * Studies in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Literature *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ... vi
Note on Translations ... vii
Introduction ... 1
1 Luis Muñoz: The Instant ... 26
Complete Poems by Muñoz ... 75
2 Abraham Gragera: The Word ... 93
Complete Poems by Gragera ... 148
3 Josep M. Rodríguez: The Images ... 184
Complete Poems by Rodríguez ... 262
4 Ada Salas: Poetry and Poetics ... 302
Complete Poems by Salas ... 368
Afterword ... 389
Acknowledgments ... 395
Notes ... 398
Works Cited ... 399
Index ... 415
