Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine Poetry: The Lyric and the State

283 Pages·2016·2.264 MB·English

by  Ben Bollig (auth.)

Politics and Public
Space in Contemporary
Argentine Poetry
The Lyric and the State
BEN BOLLIG
Literatures of the Americas
Series Editor
Norma   E. Cantú
KANSAS CITY ,   Missouri,   USA
This series seeks to bring forth contemporary critical interventions within
a hemispheric perspective, with an emphasis on perspectives from Latin
America. Books in the series highlight work that explores concerns in
literature indifferent cultural contexts across historical and geographical
boundaries and also include work on the specifi c Latina/o realities in the
United States. Designed to explore key questions confronting contem-
porary issues of literary and cultural import, Literatures of the Americas is
rooted in traditional approaches to literary criticism but seeks to include
cutting-edge scholarship using theories from postcolonial, critical race,
and ecofeminist approaches.
More information about this series at
h ttp://www.springer.com/series/14819
Ben   Bollig
Politics and Public
Space in
Contemporary
Argentine Poetry
The Lyric and the State
Ben   Bollig
University of Oxford
Oxford , United Kingdom
Literatures of the Americas
ISBN 978-1-137-59673-4 ISBN 978-1-137-58859-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58859-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948402
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
Cover illustration: © Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Nature America Inc. New York
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alex Beard, MP Blanco, Rich Rabone, Duncan Wheeler and David Wood
made generous and helpful suggestions on sections of the book, helping
me to improve arguments and avoid gaffes. The errors that survive are my
fault.
Many other people have helped me to prepare this book, in too many
ways for them to be properly thanked here. There follows a partial and
fl awed attempt.
In Argentina: Cristian Aliaga, Paulina Aliaga, Miguel Balaguer,
Edgardo Berg, Arturo Carrera, Alejandro Crotto, Nancy Fernández,
Álvaro Fernández Bravo, Natalia Fortuny, Carlos Gamerro, Florencia
Garramuño, Chiquita Gramajo, Tamara Kamenszain, Nurit Kasztelan,
Florencia Malbrán, Andi Nachon, Sergio Raimondi, Dante Sepúlveda, Ariel
Williams, Ezequiel Zaidenwerg; all at the Museo del Puerto, Ingeniero
White; and the staff in some marvelous bookshops: Eterna cadencia, La
internacional argentina, Libros del pasaje, Norte (Buenos Aires), Un amor
diferente (Gaimán) and De las raíces y del cielo (El Bolsón).
In Leeds: Manuel Barcia Paz, Richard Cleminson, Sam Durrant, Stuart
Green, Thea Pitman, Arthur Rose, Paul Taylor.
In Oxford: Louise Fawcett, Monica Fisher, Peter Franklin, Jose
Harris, Dominic Moran, Oliver Noble Wood, Eduardo Posada-Carbó,
Brigitte Pring-Mill (may she rest in peace), JC Smith, Colin Thompson,
Bart van Es; Joanne Edwards and her colleagues at the Taylor Institute
Library.
Elsewhere in the world: Victoria Carpenter, Arturo Casas, Patrick
Dove, Robert Gibbons, Cornelia Graebner, Kate Jenckes.
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My friends and fellow editors of J ournal of Latin American Cultural
Studies , current and former: Jens Andermann, Lorraine Leu, Daniel
Mosquera, Rory O’Bryen, Fernando Sdrigotti; Catherine Boyle, Philip
Derbyshire, John Kraniauskas, William Rowe.
The University of Oxford and my colleges, St Catherine’s and St
John’s, granted me sabbatical leave in autumn 2013, to carry out research
on the poetry of Andi Nachon. The Society of Authors funded a research
trip to Argentina in September 2014. Without that and the generosity of
the Leverhulme Trust, who through their Research Fellowships scheme
funded leave and research trips in 2015–2016, this book probably would
not exist.
Sections of this work have been published or presented in journals and
at various academic events; full credits are given in each chapter.
Whether they like it or not, my partner, Lizzie, and our children, Ruben
and Beatriz, have accompanied the writing of this book every step of the
way. It’s probably not quite what they’d have asked for, but this work is
for them.
Oxford, 2016.
C
ONTENTS
Introduction: The Lyric and the State 1
Spaces and Circuits of Contemporary Argentine Poetry 3 3
Martín Gambarotta: Narrative Verse and the Anti-Lyric 5 5
From Objectivism to a New Epic: The Poetry and Poetic
Activism of Sergio Raimondi 101
“Vos y yo estamos acá.” Lyric/Non-Lyric and Public Space
in the Poetry of Andi Nachon 1 43
Lyric Redivivus: Form and Politics in the Poetry of 
Ezequiel Zaidenwerg 179
A New Maternal Lyric: Marina Yuszczuk’s M adre soltera 213
Conclusion 241
vii
viii CONTENTS
Bibliography 2 45
Index 2 71
Introduction: The Lyric and the State
Argentina in the last 20 years has witnessed an upsurge in poetry writing
and publishing, in spite—or perhaps because—of economic and political
crises. Young writers, innovative styles, independent publishers, and new
forms of circulation have all emerged. If the 1980s saw a reaction against
“social,” “committed,” or “militant” writing, recent Argentine poetry
demonstrates a return of the political. More specifi cally, this body of work
is perhaps unique internationally because of its political engagement at
thematic and formal level—in particular, its creation of new forms of pub-
lic space, both real and virtual. 1
Poetry in Argentina still enjoys something of a political presence, in a
way that perhaps seldom still occurs elsewhere. One need only consider
the role of the poet Juan Gelman (1930–2014) in human rights activ-
ism; or poets’ presence alongside senior politicians at international cultural
events, such as the Frankfurt Book Fair; or government policies during
the Cristina Fernández administration (2007–2015) to promote poetry
in schools. Perhaps most importantly, as this book aims to demonstrate,
there is an integral connection between political themes, form, and mode
of circulation in much of the best recent Argentine poetry.
The titular terms, the lyric and the state, highlight the strong relation-
ship between individual creativity and expression, and ways of engaging
politically in Argentina today. 2 These include innovative means of cir-
culating poetry in the public sphere. The group “Poetas con Cristina”
© The Author(s) 2016 1
B. Bollig, Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine
Poetry, DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58859-3_1