Federico Garcia Lorca: The Poetry in All Things

214 Pages·2021·6.202 MB·English

by  Federico Bonaddio

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revolutionaries activists authors artists musicians philosophers film directors athletes ederico onaddio
Feted by his contemporaries, Federico García Lorca’s status has only
grown since his death in 1936: poet, playwright, political martyr, gay icon,
champion of women, defender of the oppressed. This book shows just why his
fame has endured, through an exploration of Lorca’s most popular works: his
book of ballads with its distinctly Andalusian setting; the angst-ridden poems he
wrote during a period of residence in New York; and finally, his trilogy of tragic
plays – Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba – with their FEDERICO
focus on the lives of women in Spain’s rural communities. Via a combination of
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close reading and historical contextualization, the book guides readers through
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these works’ key themes and concerns, all the while elucidating the significance d
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of Lorca’s choice of subject in the particular historical moment. he G A R C Í A
er

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Organized around three main topics – Andalusia’s Romani people, the idea oc
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of modernity and the condition of women in Spain – the book demonstrates t LORC A
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how Lorca applied his poetic sensibilities and lyrical craft to what were, in yG

essence, tangible, real-life issues. What becomes evident is that, even though ia
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he was writing at a time when many writers and artists were less inclined to r
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deal directly with the things of the world, Lorca maintained a profound interest l
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in the human subject and in the world around him. It is this interest, the book T
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argues, in tandem with his poetic vision and craft, that ensured his most popular L
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works’ enduring, universal appeal.
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FEDERICO BONADDIO is Reader in Modern Spanish Studies at King’s
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College, London and has written on Spanish poetry, prose and film. He is editor
of A Companion to Federico García Lorca (2007) and author of Federico
García Lorca: The Poetics of Self-Consciousness (2010), both published by
Tamesis.
Design: Toni Michelle
Cover: Lorca at Columbia University, New York, in autumn 1929 @ Centro Federico García Lorca and Fundación García Lorca
ICONS OF THE LUSO-HISPANIC WORLD
1
FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA
ICONS OF THE LUSO-HISPANIC WORLD
ISSN: 2633-7169 (print)
ISSN: 2633-7177 (online)
The Icons series includes books on a broad range of outstanding individuals –
royalty, religious figures, explorers and leaders of indigenous resistance,
inventors, scientists, politicians, revolutionaries, activists, authors, artists,
musicians, philosophers, film directors, athletes – and occasionally groups
of people, who have had a significant impact not only on Spanish- and
Portuguese-speaking countries but on a broader, even global, scale. Books
in the series offer an expertly researched overview of the impact these icons
have made both within and beyond their native regions, considering their
achievements, influence on contemporaries, and reception more widely.
Focussing on key moments in an icon’s life and work, these books trace
the acquisition of iconic status. They explore an icon’s legacy and image
and afterlife(ves), showing how they have been interpreted, appropriated,
and at times reimagined. Based on the most up-to-date scholarly research,
books in the series explore how and why a Hispanic or Lusophone icon can
also be considered an international icon.
FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA
The Poetry in All Things
Federico Bonaddio
TAMESIS
© Federico Bonaddio 2022
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Federico Bonaddio to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2022
Tamesis, Woodbridge
ISBN 978 1 85566 354 1 hardback
ISBN 978 1 78744 821 6 ePDF
Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate
A CIP record for this title is available
from the British Library
Design: Toni Michelle
Cover: Lorca at Columbia University, New York, in autumn 1929
@ Centro Federico García Lorca and Fundación García Lorca
For Matteo and Luigi
whom I missed terribly during lockdown,
and for Maria
who accompanied me throughout

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Lorca, the Gitano 21
Chapter 2 Lorca, the Modern 69
Chapter 3 Lorca, the Feminist 131
Conclusion 179
Suggested Further Reading 185
Bibliography 189
Index 195
vii

Illustrations
Illustrations 1 and 3–12 are reproduced with the kind permission of
the Centro Federico García Lorca and the Fundación Federico García
Lorca.
1. Young Lorca at his piano at home in Granada in 1919 xii
2. Antonio Luna, Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca and
José Segura with a group of children during an excursion in the
province of Granada in 1923 (© Archivo Manuel de Falla) 11
3. Lorca and José Bello taking tea with friends in the Residencia
de Estudiantes, Madrid, in 1924 12
4. Jorge Larco, Federico García Lorca, Manuel Fontanals and José
González Caballero dressed as sailors, in Buenos Aires in 1934 16
5. Lorca with Margarita Xirgu and theatre company director
Enrique Borrás at the premiere of Yerma, Madrid, 1934 19
6. Lorca and Buñuel in a paper biplane cut-out, at the festivities
of San Antonio de la Florida, Madrid, in 1923 70
7. Lorca seated in the back of an automobile in Guadix, Granada,
in 1926 70
8. Lorca and Dalí standing on the shore at Cadaqués in 1927 73
9. Lorca seated with friends at the granite ball at Columbia
University in 1929 78
10. Self-portrait in New York, 1929 122
ix