The Life, Times, and Poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca
English 272
7 March 2012
The Life, Times, and Poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca It would be safe to say that Federico Garcia Lorca was one of Spain’s most highly touted authors. His poetry is marked by brilliance, originality, and dramatic flair; and his plays are among the best examples of twentieth century poetic drama. Lorca, the preferred name of Federico, was born in Fuente Vaqueros, a village near Granada, on June 5, 1898. His parents were Don Federico Garcia, a respected and prosperous landowner, and Vicenta Lorca. Lorca claims he received his intelligence and artistic inclinations from his mother, who was very influential in his secular upbringing. Lorca and his family moved to Granada in 1909, and this is where Lorca attended school and eventually graduated from in 1914 (Bourgoin and Byers). Lorca attended the University of Granada for a time, and then traveled to Madrid in 1919 to enter the famous Residencia de Estudiantes to continue his university work. The Residencia, or living quarters, was a center of liberal activity in generally conservative Spain. The metropolitan Madrid suited the young Lorca more so than provincial Granada, and he soon joined radical young groups of students. These groups of young students explored novel ideas and spent much of their time in the cafés of Madrid. In 1921, Lorca met Salvador Dali, also a student at the time and the two formed a personal and artistic attachment to one another. He stayed in the Residencia, except for his summers, until 1928, without ever choosing a course of study (Bourgoin and Byers). Lorca’s first published work, Impresiones y paisajes (Impressions and Landscapes), published in 1918, describes an Andalusian trip taken earlier that year. In the early 1920s, Lorca began writing poems for what would be his first important book, Canciones (Songs), which was published in 1927. Canciones reveals two strong influences on Lorca’s poetic formation: the traditional and the vanguard,
7 March 2012
The Life, Times, and Poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca It would be safe to say that Federico Garcia Lorca was one of Spain’s most highly touted authors. His poetry is marked by brilliance, originality, and dramatic flair; and his plays are among the best examples of twentieth century poetic drama. Lorca, the preferred name of Federico, was born in Fuente Vaqueros, a village near Granada, on June 5, 1898. His parents were Don Federico Garcia, a respected and prosperous landowner, and Vicenta Lorca. Lorca claims he received his intelligence and artistic inclinations from his mother, who was very influential in his secular upbringing. Lorca and his family moved to Granada in 1909, and this is where Lorca attended school and eventually graduated from in 1914 (Bourgoin and Byers). Lorca attended the University of Granada for a time, and then traveled to Madrid in 1919 to enter the famous Residencia de Estudiantes to continue his university work. The Residencia, or living quarters, was a center of liberal activity in generally conservative Spain. The metropolitan Madrid suited the young Lorca more so than provincial Granada, and he soon joined radical young groups of students. These groups of young students explored novel ideas and spent much of their time in the cafés of Madrid. In 1921, Lorca met Salvador Dali, also a student at the time and the two formed a personal and artistic attachment to one another. He stayed in the Residencia, except for his summers, until 1928, without ever choosing a course of study (Bourgoin and Byers). Lorca’s first published work, Impresiones y paisajes (Impressions and Landscapes), published in 1918, describes an Andalusian trip taken earlier that year. In the early 1920s, Lorca began writing poems for what would be his first important book, Canciones (Songs), which was published in 1927. Canciones reveals two strong influences on Lorca’s poetic formation: the traditional and the vanguard,
Cited: Bourgoin, Suzzanne, and Paula Byers. "Federico Garcia Lorca." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Research, 2000. Print. Campbell, Roy. Lorca: An Appreciation of His Poetry. World Literature Criticism, Vol. 2. Ed. James Draper. Detroit: Gale Research. 1992. 1346-1349. Print. Higginbotham, Virginia. ”The Comic Spirit of Federico Garcia Lorca.” Poetry Criticism, Vol. 3. Ed. Robyn Young. Detroit: Gale Research. 1991. 147-149. Print. Hirsch, Edward. “Poet in the New World.” Poetry Criticism, Vol. 3. Ed. Robyn Young. Detroit: Gale Research. 1991. 149-151. Print. Petrakis, John. "`Garcia Lorca ' Almost Ignores The Poet 's Work." Chicago Tribune [Chicago] 12 September 1997, Entertainment. Print. Rio, Angel de. “An Introduction to Poet in New York.” Poetry Criticism, Vol. 3. Ed. Robyn Young. Detroit: Gale Research. 1991. 137-144. Print. Rogow, Zack. "Lorca 's Local Modernism." Poetry Flash. Web. 10 Mar 2012. <http://poetryflash.org/archive/?s=features&p=ROGOW-Lorcas_Local_Modernism>.