Introduction: Figures of Exile

Abstract

Figures of Exile is an interdisciplinary volume aimed at a broad academic readership. In the age of the refugee, it sheds new light on the work of canonical and less-studied figures of the Spanish exile of 1939, using a wide range of theoretical, comparative and interdisciplinary approaches. It also draws renewed attention to the study of the Spanish Republican exile and its significance beyond a particular historical moment. Hence, this volume not only aims to provide valuable new scholarship in the field of Spanish studies, but also exile studies more widely.

The end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) led to a mass exodus of refugees from Spain resulting in an exile that for many would not end until the death of Francisco Franco in 1975. It is estimated that as many as half a million Spaniards were forced to flee their home as a result of the victory of Franco’s troops. Amongst these refugees were many writers and intellectuals that had played an important role in the cultural life of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939), as well as a group of youngsters that will later play an important role in the cultural life of their hosting country. After the 80th anniversary of the Spanish Republican exile, it seemed appropriate to dedicate a volume to some of its key figures. The figures of exile discussed in these chapters include Rafael Alberti, Luis Cernuda, Francisco Ayala, José Bergamín, Emilio Prados, Federico García Lorca, José Díaz Fernández, Juan David García Bacca, Ernesto Guerra de Cal, María Luisa Elío, María Teresa León, Pedro Salinas, Tomás Segovia, Nuria Parés and María Zambrano, ranging from first generation to second generation exiles, from Galicia to Andalusia, from philosophers to poets. Rather than disparate, this broad scope is testament to the wide-ranging impact of the Republican exile.