Jo Labanyi and Luisa Elena Delgado provide the first cultural history of modern literatures in Spain. With contributors Helena Buffery, Kirsty Hooper and Mari Jose Olaziregi, they showcase the country’s cultural complexity by working across its four major literary cultures – Castilian, Catalan, Galician and Basque – from the eighteenth century to the present.
Engaging critically with the concept of the “national”, Modern Literatures in Spain traces the uneven institutionalization of Spain’s diverse literatures in a context of Castilian literary hegemony, as well as examining literary production by Spaniards outside of Spain. The thematically organized chapters explore literary constructions of subjectivity, gender and sexuality; urban and rural imaginaries; intersections between high and popular culture; and the formation of a public sphere. Throughout, readings are attentive to the multiple ways in which literature serves as a barometer of cultural responses to historical change.
An introduction to major historical debates as well as an original analysis of key texts, this book is important reading for students and scholars with an interest in the literatures and cultures of Spain.
