Luis Cernuda (
1903 -
1963), is widely recognized as one of the great
Spanish[?] poets of the
20th century. The central concerns of the radical
homosexual poet are evident in the title of his life's major opus: La Realidad y el Deseo (Reality and Desire). In this work, which the poet began in the
1930s and expanded on almost until his death in 1963, the poet explores desire, love, subject, object, history and sexuality in remarkable poems which draw influences from romanticism, classicism and the surrealist avant-garde alike. The poet is known as a member of the
Generation of '27[?], a group of Spanish poets and artists including
Federico Garcia Lorca. The poet new broke ground with "Los Placeres Prohibidos" (Forbidden Pleasures), an avant-garde work in which the poet used surrealism to explore his sexuality.
During Spain's civil war, Cernuda fled to England, where he began en exile that would take him to France, Scotland, Massachusetts (Mount Holyoke College), Mexico and California and last the rest of his life.
His major works include
- Poetry: La realidad y el deseo
- Prose poems: Ocnos, Variaciones sobre un tema Mexicano
- Criticism: Literatura Poesia I & II
His major English language critics include Derek Harris[?] and Phillip Silver[?].