Poetic Reality in Primer exilio by Ernestina de Champourcín, an Exiled Female Poet of the Generation of ‘27

Abstract

This paper investigates the poetic reality in Primer exilio by Ernestina de Champourcín, an understudied and forgotten female poet of the Generation of ‘27, also known as the Silver Period in 20th Century Spanish Poetry. Most of the 1927 Generation poets were exiled to Europe or Latin America during the Spanish Civil War or in its aftermath, and they were only able to return to Spain after the death of General Franco. Upon their return, they had difficulty in adjusting to their homeland. The female poets shared the journey of their male counterparts in their social struggle and experienced the same tragedies. Although their intellectual and artistic identities were known, these female poets, among whom were important thinkers, artists, writers, and translators, did not receive the due attention they deserved as their works were not included in the poetry anthologies of the period and were disregarded by literary critics, which delayed their rightful recognition and acknowledgement in Spanish literary history. By considering the social and cultural climate of its era, this paper explores the poetic realism in Primer exilio by Ernestina de Champourcín, who was born in Vitoria in 1905. After a discussion of the historical, social, and cultural circumstances of the period in which the poet lived, which was a critical moment in Spanish history, her poetic inclinations and the influences on her poetica are evaluated and the poetic realism created in her work Primer exilio is exemplified by poems translated from Spanish into Turkish. As a topic that has only very recently received attention, this paper references articles by Spanish poetry scholars and critics as well as the poet’s own thoughts and poetry.