Spanish Literature

Gathered to meet the rising upsurge of interest in Spain, this collection features major critical articles dealing with the authors and texts customarily taught in colleges and universities in the United States. The articles are in English and Spanish, with a predominance of the former. The material is organized to reflect the common chronological and period divisions of the academic curriculum, and is clustered around major literary figures, with a mix of general articles on the writers and texts that are most commonly included in anthologies. Spanish literature and culture have attracted a renewed interest since the return to constitutional democracy in the mid-1970s and the growing participation of Spain in the world economy and its incorporation into the European common market. Spanish literature balances a participation in the major literary movements of European literature in general with unique features of Hispanic culture that are a consequence of the special circumstances of its geography, especially the ways in which it historically served as a conduit to Europe of Arabic and Jewish cultures. Figures of international acclaim like Federico Garc'a Lorca, Miguel de Unamuno, and José Ortega y Gasset, Nobel prizewinners like Vicente Aleixandre and Camilo José Cela, the universality of Miguel de Cervantes, without whom the modern novel would not have been possible, the uniqueness of the Hispanic ballad tradition, mystic poets like San Juan de la Cruz and Santa Teresa Jesus, and the picaresque tradition are some of the major reference points for the singularity of Spanish literary culture. All of this literary activity has inspired innumerable dissertations, theses, and books, published by academic and trade presses, as well as articles in journals traditionally devoted to literary history and philosophy, along with new specialized journals and the organization of national and international congresses on national and cultural issues, writers, and schools of writing. These three volumes select the most seminal works on Spanish literature and collect them in one place for scholars and students alike. This three volume collection of reprinted articles is also available as individual volumes priced at $80.00/Y [Can. $120.00/Y]: * Volume 1. Theoretical Debates 0815335636 Volume 2. From Origins to the 18th Century 0815335644 Volume 3. The Modern Period 0185335652