SPAN 581FModern Spain in Verse

Catalog

On contrasting poetry and prose, Paul Valery (1939) wrote: "The poem does not die in order to have lived: it is made expressly to be reborn from its ashes and to become again indefinitely what it has just been." Taking this poetic reflection as a point of departure, this course explores the forms and content of modern Spanish verse from the Generation of `98 to the present, inquiring what allows a poem, and the (hi)stories it carries, to be perpetually reborn. Focusing on Spanish history through poetry, we will juxtapose poetic historical renderings with official historical accounts. Students will examine themes related to politics, love, death, memory, and exile while engaging both canonical and non-canonical writers. Special attention will be given to marginalized voices and to Spain's rich regional and linguistic diversity. This course will be conducted in Spanish. PREREQUISITE: SPAN 344, 360, 370 or equivalent.