4 authors of literary Ultraism and works

in 1918 there was a avant-garde literary movement in Spain, who wanted to oppose traditional modernism in a clear and evident way: ultraism. This modernism was present in all literary works from the end of the 19th century. This current was greatly influenced by Italian Futurism and focused on valuing the metaphor as the essence of literary writing.

In this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to discover the main authors of literary ultraism and their works so that you can get to know this artistic current that is part of the avant-garde better.

He literary ultraism is a poetic and literary movement that emerged in Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. The ultraists rejected literary traditions and strove to create a new and modern poetry through formal and thematic experimentation.

It was characterized by originality, use of metaphors and symbols, and for creative freedom. The movement had a great impact on Spanish and Latin American poetry, and its ideas and techniques have influenced several generations of writers.

In this other lesson we will discover the main characteristics of literary ultraism so that you know this genre better.

The authors of ultraism literary were the main defenders of freedom of expression and exploration of the artistic world. They often had to cross the borders between the different expressive genres, to unleash your creativity in a completely free way. They made use of new methods, new strategies, new imaginary worlds and philosophies.

We are going to introduce you to some of the main authors of literary ultraism and his best-known works.

Oliver Girondo

Oliver Girondo (1891-1967) is an Argentine author who wrote poetry in Spain. The texts of this writer are linked to the beginning of ultraism and he stands out for the continuous linguistic experimentation that he develops. His first poems are based on overcoming picturesque simplicity and talk about the new urban life, presenting a critique of its customs.

His most notable works are:

• stickers (1925)
• Scarecrow (1932)
• persuasion of days (1942)

Rafael Cansinos Assens

Rafael Cansinos Assens (1882-1964) was a Spanish poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist and translator who belonged, at the time, to the Generation of '14. His ideas changed when he met ultraism and he began to write his works with the idea of ​​cchange the mentality of society. To do so, he wanted to be relevant by collaborating with modernist, ultraist and dadaist magazines.

Among his main works we find:

• The chandelier with the 7 arms (1914)
• the divine failure (1918)
• salome in literature (1920)

Eugenio Montes

Eugenio Montes (1900-1982) was a Spanish politician, humanist and writer who participated in the founding of the Spanish FALANGE party. His ideology was completely nationalist and corporatist, so he wrote poetry focused on the themes of his country and the transitional situation that he was going through.

His main works are:

• The traveler and his shadow ( 1940 )
• FEderico II and Sicily and Alfonso X of Castile (1943)
• European elegies ( 1949)

Gerardo Diego

Gerardo Diego (1896-1987) was a very prominent Spanish poet and writer, who later belonged to the Generation of '27. He is one of the main figures recognized in the world of Spanish literature because in 1925 he obtained the International Prize for Literature and since 1947 it belonged to the Royal Spanish Academy.

Among his most outstanding works we can find:

• The surprise (1944)
• romances (1941)

The authors that we have presented to you in the previous section were the most prominent in the ultraist movement; however, there were many writers who participated in this stream, such as Pedro Garfias, Jorge Luis Borges, Pedro Iglesias Caballero, Juan Larrea, Ernesto López-Parra, Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Guillermo de Torre and Isaac del Vando-Villar.

we leave you with a couple of examples of his texts so that you can see what was the way in which they addressed their readers, through their writings.

nocturnal by Juan Larrea

"The night has opened its umbrella

It's raining

the birds of the rain

they peck the wheat from the puddles

the trees sleep

on one leg

Flutters, flutters

Wreck her a car

its final hendecasyllable crash

A man crosses like a bad thought

water mosquitoes

beehive lights

wing fires

flutters

It's raining"

Tomorrow by Jorge Luis Borges

"The flags sang their colors

and the wind is a bamboo stick in the hands

The world grows like a clear tree

drunk as a propeller

the sun hits the reveille on the rooftops

the sun with its spurs tears the mirrors

like a playing card my shadow

has fallen flat on the road

Up the sky flies

and the birds fly through it like wandering nights

The morning comes to perch fresh on my back."

Now you know some of the best authors of literary ultraism and you know what his most relevant works are. If you are interested in knowing more stages of Spanish literature, do not hesitate to consult our other lessons, where we will accompany you on this path of discovery through literature.