Jorge Guillén in Post-Exile: Reaffirming the Ethical Dimension of Poetry

Jorge Guillén interrupted his exile to visit Spain in the 1960s and 1970s before returning for good in 1977. This article examines the effects on his poetry of his progressive return to Spain. In Y otros poemas (1973) and Final (1981) Guillén rethinks his place and that of his works in Spanish reality and history. He insists on remembering the effects of the Civil War, brings attention to his exile poetry, and highlights the role of the reader in the survival of his work. In order to understand Y otros poemas and Final, it is key to connect them to the ethical awakening that exile provoked in his writing. The analysis of his acknowledgment of the relational dimension of poetry during his exile reveals that his return, far from becoming a break from his previous work, meant a conscious reiteration of the lessons that he had learned outside of Spain.