Avant-Garde Narrative: Characteristics and Key Authors

Avant-Garde Narrative: An Introduction

Vanguard Narrative: In the early decades of the twentieth century, avant-garde movements exerted great influence on narrative. From a refreshing perspective, the novel sought to break with traditional approaches and explore new forms.

Key Features of Avant-Garde Narrative

• Urban Environments: Avant-garde narratives reflect the changes in rural and urban life. Cities are modernized, and their conflicts are explored.
• Prevalence of the Intelligentsia: The narrative often prioritizes the problems and perspectives of intellectual characters.
• Inner Worlds: Principal characters express their innermost thoughts and feelings, drawing the reader into their subjective experiences.
• Use of Imagination: Imagination becomes a fundamental resource for creation, influenced by the avant-garde movements of the time.
• Ingenious Lexicon: The narrative employs a creative and unusual lexicon, relying heavily on metaphor and vivid imagery.

Key Authors of the Avant-Garde Narrative

Benjamin Jarne

Benjamin Jarne is considered a major exponent of the avant-garde novel, aiming to "raise the level of art for the arduous road of intelligence, through the narrow paths of sensitivity." His work reflects the formal indications proposed by José Ortega y Gasset.

Works: "Professor Useless," "The Paper Invited."

Style: Jarne's style is characterized by structural freedom, blending narrative and lyrical elements. He champions modernity, freedom, and tolerance. His descriptions are slow and detailed, contrasting with the insubstantiality of the events described.

José Bergamin

José Bergamin led the journal Cruz y Raya and was exiled for political reasons. His work reflects a marked avant-garde tendency, adding concepts such as the defense of Catholicism and the humanization of art.

Works: "The Rocket and the Star," "The Bird's Head," and the novel "Characters."

Style: Bergamin's style demonstrates a mastery of prose, full of wit and irony. He employs lexical games, a taste for paradox, and the use of popular lexicon.

José Díaz Fernández

Works: "The Blockhouse," "Venus Mechanics."

Style: Fernández's style features freedom of composition, experimental use of images, and extensive descriptions influenced by the avant-garde. His works focus on concerns, thoughts of discontent, proposals for commitment, and creativity. He rejects literature with purely aesthetic purposes.