It is therefore admirable that Manuel Valero coordinated the Juan Gil-Albert book on an unexpected waterfront (fifty years of Fuentes de la constancia) that emerged from presentations at headquarters in Alicante last year. Alicante Cultural Institute Juan Gil-Albert, Casa Bardín, between 2 and 4 March 2022. The presentations of José Carlos Rovira, Jaime Siles, Manuel Valero, María Paz Moreno, who are great experts in their field, María Teresa Navarrete, Raúl Molina Gil, Miguel Ángel García, Félix Martín Gijón and David Ferrez Gutiérrez are collected in this book.
From the first words of Catalina Iliescu Gheorghiu, vice-rector for Culture, Sports and University Extension of the University of Alicante: “It is always good for an interpretation or commemoration of an important writer, but half a century after this date. Poem of Juan Gil-Albert by José Carlos Rovira The edition of Fuentes de la constancia, the anthology he prepared on the subject, is a full and sufficient time for the internalization of Gilabert’s thought in its narrative, evocative, reflective and critical aspects in the Greco-Latin language. The references and its surreal and avant-garde beginnings show that the horrors of war and the emptiness of exile are moving away from realism .
This is precisely his attempt to create a work of solid prose in which he deals with everything from the world of the Civil War in the Drama Patrioto to the world of homosexuality in Hercules or the tragedy of the tsars in the Oval Portrait and a poetic work. This symbolizes his moment. It culminates in the beautiful book Las Ilusiones.
A writer who returned to Spain from American exile in Mexico and Argentina in 1947 and created meticulous work without the possibility of publishing until it was appropriated by Jaime Gil de Biedma, Francisco Brines and José Carlos Rovira in the seventies. among others. The second tells us about the germ of the edition of Fuentes de la constancia, the anthology that brings together the poetic works of Juan Gil-Albert. Later, in 1983, thanks to Cátedra’s editor-in-chief Gustavo Domínguez, he managed to prepare the edition of Fuentes de la constancia. The anthology prepared by the author from Alcoy was published in Ocnos in 1972.
Since it is impossible for a review to quote each presentation or their fragments, I note something that struck me when José Carlos Rovira considered Fuentes de la constancia “to be a literary self-portrait in which there are fragmentary elements of autobiography.” appeared.” , but scattered and discontinuous.
And he tells José Carlos Rovira that the Mediterranean is the reason for poems like “Alicante” because the poet from Alcoy looked deeply into a landscape that goes beyond the world of the Levant, a vision that transcends the Valencian landscape and reaches Greece. and his love of all things Greek.
From the perspective of the great Valencian poet Jaime Siles, who was Juan’s close friend, he tells us how, when he came across a portrait similar to that of the dancer Nijinski, he welcomed him into his home, but it was Gil-Albert. himself, because as a young man he already had that watchful and sensitive face that had always characterized him. And the poet-island terminology, because we cannot classify the great Alcoyan into any era, neither the 27th nor the 36th. His work breaks away from any classification and emerges as a unique and inimitable universe. And I emphasize that Jaime Siles sees him as a poet who inspires hope in young people because of his moral commitment to the world.
Manuel Valero, a passionate Gilbertian because of his books about him, emphasizes the friendship between Professor José Carlos Rovira and Juan. The continuity of the friendship between the two, which has lasted for years but is intertwined with the passion for poetry, comes to the fore. Very interesting presentation by Manuel Valero, which adds to his meticulous study of Juan’s work.
And María Paz Moreno, who reviewed Gil-Albert’s work Culturalism in the Poetry of Juan Gil-Albert, published by the Alicantino Cultural Institute Gil-Albert and coordinated the edition of the Complete Poetry of the Alicante poet and prose writer, said: Fuentes de la Constancia’ We’re talking about the impact of and its impact on North American Hispanicism. He emphasizes that the work of Juan Gil-Albert is almost absent in the United States, where the scientist and professor has worked for many years. He quotes Andrew Debicki, whom he emphasizes as not finding the poet’s figure and work very interesting. An interesting presentation, because it illuminates the lack of knowledge of a poet who does not have the influence of Federico García Lorca or Miguel Hernández, who has been overshadowed by the sudden success of some poets in Spain since the seventies and the Fine Arts Círculo supported by Alfonso Guerra. This ignorance does not exclude the sap that always illuminates the poet clearly and deeply with his many works that reveal a rich inner world and should not be left aside.
Raúl Molina Gil emphasizes the silence of the work of the great poet from Alcoy and says something worth considering: “In short, Gil-Albert appeared in the 70s and was unstoppable. First, because of the quality of his writings and his importance among the famous and enthroned figures of post-war writers.
It also points to his clear influence on the newest, for Juan Gil-Albert is not the author of easy language, but of careful words achieved by the illuminating strokes of a poet and a sculptor who cuts his work, paints his work. A prose writer with a subtle style that does not fit either the pace of today’s literature or the easy and popular language.
And, as noted in other presentations, the recovery of his work is due to the efforts of scholars such as Manuel Valero and Pedro J. de la Peña (who died recently), who was his friend and one of the first to write on this subject. Alfonso the Magnanimous Institution has a book dedicated to his life and work, María Paz Moreno, José Carlos Rovira, Jaime Siles, not to forget César Simón, who loved his cousin and teacher very much. Other names such as Luis Antonio de Villena and Guillermo Carnero, who prove the accuracy of his talent and work, also maintain the weight of the newest ones. And our excellent friend Francisco Brines, whom we will always remember for his poetic works.
This book is of great value, coordinated by Manuel Valero, who continues to defend a deep and real world, to justify the universe of a poet and prose writer from whom we have to learn a lot, because in times of confrontation with the ordinary a landscape like John’s spine is a revelation . Especially for me, he discovered Juan, Paco Brines, and now he has remained in my life forever. Long live the great master of our culture, a writer who is an example not only for the Alicante universe, but for all lovers of this word, a jeweler woven carefully and silently by the great Juan Gil-Albert.