Rutgers University Press The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today

Review "Judith Nantell's The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today is a significant work of criticism that brings to light current lyric innovations in Spain, with particular attention to the epistemic strain in the work of four very recent poets: Luis Muñoz, Abraham Gragera, Josep M. Rodríguez, and Ada Salas. Nantell's primary argument is that these four share a vision of their art as a process and a movement towards a state of acute realization and insight into their chosen art and, indeed, into the nature of reality. Nantell shows the four to be authors of a "universalist" lyric poetry, written in Spanish across and beyond borders, and fueled - but not limited by -- literary canon, tradition, and artistic influence. This study exhibits a wealth of insights and original observations, bolstered and fortified by the critical armature reflective of the depth and extension of Judith Nantell's research." --Sylvia Sherno "co-editor, Contemporary Spanish Poetry: The Word and the World""The Poetics of Epiphany in the Spanish Lyric of Today offers an enthusiastic celebration of the work of four contemporary Spanish poets....Those in search of an introduction to the work of four poets that highlights each poet's voice through the inclusion and discussion of biographical statements, poetics, poems, and auto-analyses, though, will undoubtedly find this book to be a valuable resource and point of entry into the work of these four poets."-- "Studies in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Literature""The book is a major contribution to an understanding of the contemporary Spanish lyric, apt for a general audience, specialists in contemporary Spanish literature, and as a model for introducing new poets in graduate classes. In a sense, the study is itself epiphanic. One reads the delimited analyses of just four poets and then somewhat surprisingly realizes that the study offers a clearly defined road map leading into the core of the contemporary Spanish lyric."-- "Bulletin of Spanish Studies" Product Description Drawing on original contributions of four major voices in the Spanish lyric of today, Judith Nantell investigates the epistemic poetry of Luis Muñoz, Abraham Gragera, Josep M. Rodríguez, and Ada Salas, arguing that, for them, the poem is the fundamental means of exploring the nature of both knowledge and poetry. Writing the first investigative and interpretative monograph to develop the epistemic nature of the poets’ work, Nantell takes a unique approach by engaging the active participation of the poets she studies. The poets have selected their own poems to be included in this non-traditional academic monograph, and have also written previously-unpublished explications and biographical self-portraits to contribute to Nantell’s development of a poetics of epiphany. About the Author Judith Nantell is a professor of Spanish literature at the University of Arizona. She has published Rafael Alberti’s Poetry of the Thirties: The Poet’s Public Voice, winner of the 1984 South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Studies Award, and The Poetry of Francisco Brines: The Deconstructive Effects of Language (Bucknell University Press.)