Avant-Garde Movements and Modernist Literature 1910–1930

Avant-Garde Movements and Isms

The vanguards: In 1910 the picture emerging in the avant-garde artistic and literary scene was of a series of isms that rejected traditional art forms and advocated experimentation. Not every movement had the same impact; together they formed a set of approaches that challenged conventions and promoted new expressive possibilities.

Key isms and characteristics

• Creationism (Creacionismo): of Hispanic origin; it sought reality within the word, often using language games and inventive linguistic forms.
• Surrealism: of French origin; it intended to express emotions and thoughts of the subconscious, making frequent use of irrational images and unexpected juxtapositions.

Romance of the New Century

At the beginning of the twentieth century, alongside the avant-garde in Europe, other innovative literary phenomena emerged. Important authors and works include:

• Marcel Proust: author of a series of seven novels grouped as In Search of Lost Time. He examines the psychology of characters in high society and explores memory and perception.
• Franz Kafka: he expressed the anguish of human beings and the meaninglessness of social relations; his works depict alienation and metamorphosis.
• James Joyce: he wrote Ulysses, which moves the novel into contemporary Dublin and mixes different styles and literary techniques, blending genres and narrative formulas.

Noucentisme and the Generation of 1914

In the second decade of the twentieth century a group of writers characterized by intellectualism, an eagerness for European culture, and a search for pure art emerged. This group is known as the Generation of '14 and is often called novecentismo (or Noucentisme in the Catalan context). The main representative in poetry among the novecentistas is Juan Ramón Jiménez. The authors also cultivated the novel and the essay.

Novela novecentista

The novela novecentista was characterized by lyrical descriptive passages and the presence of essayistic elements. Its essence is reflection and the description of characters and their environments. Among novelists of the Generation of '14, highlighted figures include Gabriel Miró (author of Bishop Leper) and Ramón Pérez de Ayala (author of Tiger John).

Introduction of the avant-garde in Spain

Ramón Gómez de la Serna was the novelist and essayist who introduced the avant-garde in Spain and was the creator of the greguerías (short, witty metaphors that combine mood and metaphor).

José Ortega y Gasset and Novecento

Test Novecento: the figure of José Ortega y Gasset summarized his ideas about how literature should be new in the essay The Dehumanization of Art. Ortega defended originality, the absence of sentimentality, the prevalence of anti-realism, and the primacy of image.

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Juan Ramón Jiménez was born in Moguer (Huelva) in 1881. In 1916 he left for the USA to marry Zenobia Camprubí, and he later returned to Spain during the Civil War. In 1956 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature and in 1958 he died in Puerto Rico. He is characterized by the pursuit of perfection. The author divides his life and work into three phases:

Sensitive Phase

Also called the early phase, it is marked by the influence of Modernism. In these poems the author uses metaphors and synesthesia, giving great importance to musicality and adjectives. Works and motifs from this phase include Elegies, Sounding Solitude, and Distant Gardens.

Intellectual Stage

This stage begins in 1916 with Diary of a Recently Married Poet. It is characterized by the presence of complex themes such as loneliness, death, eternity, and creation. Representative books include Journal, Eternities, and Stone and Sky.

Third Phase — "True Enough"

The books written by the author during his American exile belong to this final period (sometimes referred to as the "True Enough" phase). Notable works include On the Other Side and God Desired and Desiring. In this phase the poet seeks transcendence.