Literatures of the Americas Series Editor Norma E. Cantú KANSAS CITY, Missouri, USA
This series seeks to bring forth contemporary critical interventions within a hemispheric perspective, with an emphasis on perspectives from Latin America. Books in the series highlight work that explores concerns in literature indifferent cultural contexts across historical and geographical boundaries and also include work on the specific Latina/o realities in the United States. Designed to explore key questions confronting contemporary issues of literary and cultural import, Literatures of the Americas is rooted in traditional approaches to literary criticism but seeks to include cutting-edge scholarship using theories from postcolonial, critical race, and ecofeminist approaches. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14819
Ben Bollig Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine Poetry The Lyric and the State
Ben Bollig University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom Literatures of the Americas ISBN 978-1-137-59673-4 ISBN 978-1-137-58859-3 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58859-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948402 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. New York
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Alex Beard, MP Blanco, Rich Rabone, Duncan Wheeler and David Wood made generous and helpful suggestions on sections of the book, helping me to improve arguments and avoid gaffes. The errors that survive are my fault. Many other people have helped me to prepare this book, in too many ways for them to be properly thanked here. There follows a partial and flawed attempt. In Argentina: Cristian Aliaga, Paulina Aliaga, Miguel Balaguer, Edgardo Berg, Arturo Carrera, Alejandro Crotto, Nancy Fernández, Álvaro Fernández Bravo, Natalia Fortuny, Carlos Gamerro, Florencia Garramuño, Chiquita Gramajo, Tamara Kamenszain, Nurit Kasztelan, Florencia Malbrán, Andi Nachon, Sergio Raimondi, Dante Sepúlveda, Ariel Williams, Ezequiel Zaidenwerg; all at the Museo del Puerto, Ingeniero White; and the staff in some marvelous bookshops: Eterna cadencia, La internacional argentina, Libros del pasaje, Norte (Buenos Aires), Un amor diferente (Gaimán) and De las raíces y del cielo (El Bolsón). In Leeds: Manuel Barcia Paz, Richard Cleminson, Sam Durrant, Stuart Green, Thea Pitman, Arthur Rose, Paul Taylor. In Oxford: Louise Fawcett, Monica Fisher, Peter Franklin, Jose Harris, Dominic Moran, Oliver Noble Wood, Eduardo Posada-Carbó, Brigitte Pring-Mill (may she rest in peace), JC Smith, Colin Thompson, Bart van Es; Joanne Edwards and her colleagues at the Taylor Institute Library. Elsewhere in the world: Victoria Carpenter, Arturo Casas, Patrick Dove, Robert Gibbons, Cornelia Graebner, Kate Jenckes. v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My friends and fellow editors of Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, current and former: Jens Andermann, Lorraine Leu, Daniel Mosquera, Rory O Bryen, Fernando Sdrigotti; Catherine Boyle, Philip Derbyshire, John Kraniauskas, William Rowe. The University of Oxford and my colleges, St Catherine s and St John s, granted me sabbatical leave in autumn 2013, to carry out research on the poetry of Andi Nachon. The Society of Authors funded a research trip to Argentina in September 2014. Without that and the generosity of the Leverhulme Trust, who through their Research Fellowships scheme funded leave and research trips in 2015 2016, this book probably would not exist. Sections of this work have been published or presented in journals and at various academic events; full credits are given in each chapter. Whether they like it or not, my partner, Lizzie, and our children, Ruben and Beatriz, have accompanied the writing of this book every step of the way. It s probably not quite what they d have asked for, but this work is for them. Oxford, 2016.
CONTENTS Introduction: The Lyric and the State 1 Spaces and Circuits of Contemporary Argentine Poetry 33 Martín Gambarotta: Narrative Verse and the Anti-Lyric 55 From Objectivism to a New Epic: The Poetry and Poetic Activism of Sergio Raimondi 101 Vos y yo estamos acá. Lyric/Non-Lyric and Public Space in the Poetry of Andi Nachon 143 Lyric Redivivus: Form and Politics in the Poetry of Ezequiel Zaidenwerg 179 A New Maternal Lyric: Marina Yuszczuk s Madre soltera 213 Conclusion 241 vii
viii CONTENTS Bibliography 245 Index 271