The radical right and poetry during the contemporary period in Spain [Bilingual edition: Spanish – English]

Abstract

This paper concerns the literary career of some of the Spanish poets who, since Francoism onward, have been ideologically situated within the spectrum known as the “radical right”. One of the aspects that require serious thought is the difficulty in defining that concept and the different proposals that have emerged in the last few decades in specialized literature, both in Spain and in Europe.

Diversity, both ideological and related to the careers of these poets, must be emphasized within the trend that may be called the right pole of the literary field, and it is important to point out some of the names and labels that have spread throughout that ideological sector.

In analyzing the radical right‘s history in Spain, from the end of the Civil War forward, the “single party” of the Franco regime, Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS, and its development must be mentioned as well as its influence in poetry. Some of the aspects will be mentioned to this end, such as the distinction between apparatus and field made by Bourdieu and subsequently developed by Sapiro, or the differentiation between totalitarianism and dictatorship made by Hannah Arendt.

Some of the major themes of the radical right will be studied, both in Spain and in other European countries, as well as how these themes are reflected in poetry. One of the core ideas is decadentism, which will be analyzed in some of the works of distinguished authors from that political area. Finally, this study will delve into the transposition of that idea of decadence into the political arena, from the speeches of some of the European right extremist parties at present.