Leopoldo María Panero
Encyclopedia
Leopoldo María Panero is a Spanish
poet, commonly placed in the Novísimos
group.
Panero is the archetype of a decadence as much cultivated as repudiated, but that decadence has not stopped him from being the first member of his generation in being incorporated to the classic Spanish editorial Cátedra, to have a splendid biography written by J. Benito Fernández (El contorno del abismo, Tusquets, 1999) and being included in the literary history, anthologies and academical programs.
Son of Leopoldo Panero
(1909–1962), poet of suggestive voice, and brother of the poet Juan Luis Panero
, the young Leopoldo María Panero, as well as so other many descendants of the supporters of the Franco regime, is fascinated by the radical left party. His anti-Franco militancy will constitute the first of his disasters and will cost him his first stay in prison.
His first experiences with drugs date back to those youth years too. From alcohol to heroin, to which he would dedicate an impressive collection of poems in 1992, none of them remains unknown to him. In the decade of the 70's he is admitted for the first time in a psychiatric hospital. Nevertheless, his constant internments do not prevent him from developing a copious bibliography not only as a poet, but as a translator, essayist and even narrator.
His various poetic releases appear regularly:
His narrative work includes:
He also cultivated the essay form:
In one or another way, all his pages, even his translations, are autobiographical. In fact, the keys to his work are self-contemplation and (self)destruction. Nevertheless, as Pere Gimferrer already pointed out in 1971, the theme of his poetry "is not the destruction of adolescence: it is its triumph, and the destruction and disintegration of the adult conscience with it". To liberate adolescence like emotional energy, creating an own mythology, not official, it is the assumed attitude by Panero from the very beginning.
book written by Spanish
author Leopoldo María Panero. It is a good text in which to find all the characteristics of his poetry.
The first thing that can be seen in this poem are the culturalist elements that appear in a more or less explicit form:
Secondly the many repetitions of words, syntactic structures, more or less complete verses. Repetitions that seem to be used to create a kind of obsessive rhythm (let's keep in mind that the poem is a "song") as to give the text the appearance of an inner monologue.
Finally, the different themes that appear in the poem should be pointed out: the autobiographical, the blaspheming, the life as a dream, the anti-Spainism (not in vain, one of his poetry books is entitled "Against Spain and other poems of no-love"), the damnation (ruin is so beautiful). Themes that, in one way or another, repeat, modify and mix each other to give the poem that character of obsessive inner monologue, already mentioned.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
poet, commonly placed in the Novísimos
Novísimos
The Novísimos were a poetic group in Spain who took their name from an anthology in which the Catalan critic José María Castellet gathered the work of the majority of the youngest and most experimental poets in the decade of the 1970s: Nueve novísimos poetas españoles , Barcelona, 1970...
group.
Panero is the archetype of a decadence as much cultivated as repudiated, but that decadence has not stopped him from being the first member of his generation in being incorporated to the classic Spanish editorial Cátedra, to have a splendid biography written by J. Benito Fernández (El contorno del abismo, Tusquets, 1999) and being included in the literary history, anthologies and academical programs.
Son of Leopoldo Panero
Leopoldo Panero
Leopoldo Panero, Spanish poet born in Astorga in 1909 and deceased in 1962. Member of the Generation of 27, wrote intimate poems of religious and conservative character...
(1909–1962), poet of suggestive voice, and brother of the poet Juan Luis Panero
Juan Luis Panero
Juan Luis Panero was a Spanish poet.Son of Leopoldo Panero, nephew of Juan Panero and brother of Leopoldo María Panero. He was born into a well-off family receiving education in El Escorial and afterwards in London...
, the young Leopoldo María Panero, as well as so other many descendants of the supporters of the Franco regime, is fascinated by the radical left party. His anti-Franco militancy will constitute the first of his disasters and will cost him his first stay in prison.
His first experiences with drugs date back to those youth years too. From alcohol to heroin, to which he would dedicate an impressive collection of poems in 1992, none of them remains unknown to him. In the decade of the 70's he is admitted for the first time in a psychiatric hospital. Nevertheless, his constant internments do not prevent him from developing a copious bibliography not only as a poet, but as a translator, essayist and even narrator.
His various poetic releases appear regularly:
- Así se fundó Carnaby Street (This is how Carnaby Street was founded) (Ocnos, 1970). In this poetry book, the melancholy of his childhood myths goes parallel with a passionate experimentalism.
- Teoría (Theory) (Lumen, 1973).
- Narciso en el acorde último de las flautas (Narcissus in the last chord of flutes) (Visor, 1979).
- Last River Together (Ayuso, 1980).
- Dioscuros (Ayuso, 1982).
- El último hombre (The last man) (Ediciones Libertarias, 1984).
- Poesía 1970-1985 (Visor, 1986).
- Contra España y otros poema de no amor (Against Spain and other poems of no-love) (Ediciones Libertarias, 1990).
- Agujero llamado Nevermore (Hole called Nevermore) (poetic selection, 1968-1992) (Cátedra, 1992).
- Poemas del Manicomio de Mondragón (Poems from the Mondragón Mental Hospital) (Hiperión, 1999).
- Suplicio en la cruz de la boca (Torture in the cross of the mouth) (El Gato Gris, Ediciones de Poesía, 2000).
- Teoría del miedo (Theory of fear) (Igitur, 2000).
- Poesía Completa (Complete Poetry) (1970-2000) (Visor, 2001).
- Águila contra el hombre : poemas para un suicidamiento (Eagle against man : poems for a suicide) (Valdemar, 2001).
- Esquizofrénicas o la balada de la lámpara azul (Schizophrenics or the ballad of the blue lamp) (Hiperión, 2004).
- Danza de la muerte (Dance of death) (Igitur, 2004).
His narrative work includes:
- En lugar del hijo (Tusquets, 1976), fantasy short-stories compilation.
- Dos relatos y una perversión (Two short-stories and one perversion) (Ediciones Libertarias, 1984).
- Palabras de un asesino (Words of a murderer), (Ediciones Libertarias, 1999).
- Los héroes inútiles (The useless heroes), (epistolary with the young writer Diego Medrano
Diego MedranoDiego Medrano Fernández is a Spanish poet, narrator and regular columnist of Asturian newspaper El Comercio.- Life :...
), (Ellago Ediciones, 2005)
He also cultivated the essay form:
- Mi cerebro es una rosa (my brain is a rose), (Roger, 1998).
- Prueba de vida. Autobiografía de la muerte (Life proof, autobiography of death), (Huerga y Fierro, 2002).
In one or another way, all his pages, even his translations, are autobiographical. In fact, the keys to his work are self-contemplation and (self)destruction. Nevertheless, as Pere Gimferrer already pointed out in 1971, the theme of his poetry "is not the destruction of adolescence: it is its triumph, and the destruction and disintegration of the adult conscience with it". To liberate adolescence like emotional energy, creating an own mythology, not official, it is the assumed attitude by Panero from the very beginning.
Last River Together
Last River Together is a poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
book written by Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
author Leopoldo María Panero. It is a good text in which to find all the characteristics of his poetry.
The first thing that can be seen in this poem are the culturalist elements that appear in a more or less explicit form:
- The title, of clear cinematographic evocation.
- The quote that headlines the text: Fifteen men over the Dead Man's ChestDead Man's Chest"Dead Man's Chest" is a fictional sea-song originally from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island . It was expanded in a poem, titled Derelict by Young E. Allison, published in the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1891...
/ Fifteen men over the Dead Man's Chest/ Yahoo! And a bottle of rum!, which is the song that the pirates sing in Robert L. Stevenson's "The treasure island" (evidently, there is also a film adaptation). - An evocation of "La vida es sueño" from Calderón de la Barca (And dream that I have lived...).
- Mentions Fernando PessoaFernando PessoaFernando Pessoa, born Fernando António Nogueira de Seabra Pessoa , was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic and translator described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest poets in the Portuguese language.-Early years in Durban:On 13 July...
and his heteronims: (I say to myself that I am Pessoa, like Pessoa was Álvaro Campos). - The reference to "Dulce pájaro de juventud" (Sweet Bird of Youth, theatre play by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, which was brought to film by Richard BrooksRichard BrooksRichard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer.-Early life and career:...
in 1962 and which tells how a bon viveurBon viveurA bon viveur is a person who enjoys the good things of life, especially food. The phrase is derived from the French bon vivant, meaning good living, a bon viveur being a "good liver", or one who lives well. The phrase is not derogatory but conveys a sense of overindulgence...
has to leave his hometown, after seducing the boss's daughter. Installed in Hollywood he will become the lover of an autumn star). - The contradiction to LarraMariano José de LarraMariano José de Larra was a Spanish romantic writer best known for his numerous essays, as well as his infamous suicide...
(To write in Spain is not to cry). - The reference to the European philosopher Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
. - Mentioning the French writer Rémy de GourmontRemy de GourmontRemy de Gourmont was a French Symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars...
(1858–1915) and his "Le Livre Des Masques". "Portraits symbolistes", "Glosses et Documents sur les Ecrivains d'hier et d'aujourd'hui", "in-18", "Societé du Mercure de France, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1896.
Secondly the many repetitions of words, syntactic structures, more or less complete verses. Repetitions that seem to be used to create a kind of obsessive rhythm (let's keep in mind that the poem is a "song") as to give the text the appearance of an inner monologue.
Finally, the different themes that appear in the poem should be pointed out: the autobiographical, the blaspheming, the life as a dream, the anti-Spainism (not in vain, one of his poetry books is entitled "Against Spain and other poems of no-love"), the damnation (ruin is so beautiful). Themes that, in one way or another, repeat, modify and mix each other to give the poem that character of obsessive inner monologue, already mentioned.