Social and Committed Poetry: Trends and Evolution

Poetry, whether committed or social, should address the problems experienced by fellow citizens. It should make them aware of the meaning of life and the circumstances of the time in which they live. In American literature, a long list of writers are attentive to the social and political problems of their people. Poets abandon the pastoral mirage of primitive peoples living in harmony with nature and show us men and women exploited by an impeccable capitalist system.

During the Civil War, many poets positioned themselves for the republic, but their fate differed afterward. Post-war Spain was conditioned by the military victory of a group led by the army, the Catholic Church, and the privileged strata. This victory meant a regression for Spanish culture.

Trends in poetry in the second half of the twentieth century: During the 40s and 50s, social or committed poetry prevailed, though other trends like surrealism or intimate and personal poetry always existed. From the 60s, poets began to reclaim the playful and creative role of poetry, refusing to be a mere tool of communication or social withdrawal.

In Spain, poets remained committed to reality, needing to maintain opposition to an oppressive regime that had accompanied them from childhood. However, they avoided the pathetic or dramatic tone of social poets, discussing their personal experiences rooted in everyday reality, often with irony or skepticism. They rejected the idea that poetry is an instrument to transform society, discovering the uselessness of the poetic word for this purpose, leading to disappointment in poetry as a weapon loaded with future potential.

Antipoetry, started in Hispanoamerica by the Chilean Nicanor Parra, presents the poet as a mere human being burdened by daily problems. It shows a reaction against the absurdity of existence and against the contemporary man's alienation, employing simple language, sometimes even slang, reminiscent of the sencillista principles of the century. Almost all antipoetry ends by recognizing that poetry changes nothing; it's only antipoetry.

Already in the decade of the 70s, social rejection of poetry and political dissent is accentuated, demanding more attention to the creative function of poetry and advocating for a renovation of poetic language.

And from age 80? The historical and social landscape of this era helps disenchantment is what emanates from the poems and it appears that the future and what it can bring no interest. NO FUTURE AY. as they say the motto of punk, the Left had failed revolucciones, etc.

Economic crisis trends: anti-poetry, experimental poetry, social or committed poetry concerned about social realities, cukurista classical poetry, erotic poetry (especially written by women).