Gil de Biedma: According to the sentence of time
© Colita
Born in Barcelona on November 13, 1929, Gil de Biedma, is considered one of the most important Spanish-language poets of the 20th century, and was a key figure in the "Generation of '50," a group of poets who addressed the social realism of post-Civil War Spain, while focusing on a type of lyricism that enabled them to evade censorship under the Franco regime.
Gil de Biedma also penned a number of essays and diaries in which the presence of Anglo-American thought and literary culture, catalyzed by his study and love of the poetry of Eliot, Auden and Marlowe, is apparent.
Through the use of dramatic monologue in his poetry and of the intimate diary as a form of literary introspection, Gil de Biedma introduced new techniques into Spanish literary tradition. Moreover, by recovering older poetic forms, such as the sestina, and by bringing his poetry closer to the language of the street, Jaime Gil de Biedma built bridges between his mother tongue and English, enabling his readers to discover the works of the English writers mentioned above. These valuable contributions, coupled with the natural significance of his lyrics, give particular meaning to this exhibition, which pays special attention to the relationship between his poetry and the visual arts.
Gil de Biedma quit writing while at the height of his literary career, convinced he had nothing left to say. All his work in verse—barely a hundred poems—was finally collected and published with a prologue by the author under the title, Las Personas del Verbo (Barral Editores, 1975), about ten years before his death, in 1990. With this exhibition, Instituto Cervantes wishes to pay tribute to the poet, while introducing him to a broader audience, and inviting those who already appreciate his work to rediscover it.
