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critura epistolar es el resultado de aquello que solamente Peña, along with visits by Eliot, Dámaso Alonso, and Eu-
pudo decirse a una determinada persona y en una determi- lalia Galvarriato (Alonso’s wife), and additional encounters
nada situación, pero también comprobamos que la intimi- with other notable Hispanists, such as Allison Peers and Ed-
dad revela lo que oculta la historia y que las cartas pueden ward Wilson. Also through select correspondence, Huerta
ser también un umbral del texto” (15). attempts to clarify “algunos puntos oscuros” of the relation-
The 15 chapters that follow the introduction are analy- ship between Panero and the Spanish poet Luis Cernuda.
ses by 16 different critics, including the editors themselves, José Antonio Llera examines “la correspondencia inédita
of select correspondence from writers with friends and/or de Dámaso Alonso” in chapter 3, and begins by citing Alon-
other notable figures of the period. The first chapter, “Una so’s own frustration with how the poet sees himself, encap-
alegría en voz alta” by Luce López-Baralt, examines letters sulated in a letter to his friend Jorge Guillén in June 1952:
between her and “Don” Jorge Guillén, an exchange that be- “en lo internacional resulto un fachista asqueroso, y en lo
gan in 1964 after Luce heard the poet’s course “Poesía de nacional un rojo indeseable. ¡Está uno divertido!” (91). By
la Generación Española de 1920-1936” in the University highlighting select excerpts from Alonso’s letters and other
of Puerto Rico; the letters continued to 1982, just months previously unpublished texts, Llera intends to shed greater
before Guillén’s death. The level of friendship arguably cul- light on the murky picture that is Alonso’s identity and phi-
minated with the poet’s attendance and recital of his own losophy in post-war Spain, and the poet’s own struggle with
“décima” at Luce’s wedding in 1972. avoiding characterizations by the public and his “repulsa a
The second chapter, “El epistolario inglés de Leopoldo caer en dogmatismos propios de los discursos propagandís-
Panero” by Javier Huerta Calvo, focuses on the poet’s letters ticos, así como la lealtad hacia sus amigos de exilio” (109).
during his various stays in the U.K.: first as a student (1933 Taking a more surgically precise approach on correspon-
and 1935-1936) and then as director of the Spanish Insti- dence in the 4th chapter, Julio E. Checa Puerta and Alba
tute in London (1946-47). According to Huerta, this focus Gómez García focus on a single “carta inédita” that the
allows a close examination of an important period of Pane- Spanish writer and poet Gregorio Martínez Sierra penned
ro’s “formación humana y literaria” (60). In 1936, for ex- during his exile in Juan-Les-Pins, France, and sent to his
ample, Panero enjoyed a visit by Miguel de Unamuno, met daughter and stepson on July 12, 1938, in order to clari-
T.S. Eliot, and engaged with noteworthy Hispanists of the fy his and his partner’s—Cuban-born theatre actress, Cata-
period, including Alexander Parker. Later, during his time lina Bárcena—perspectives in the wake of Franco’s dicta-
as director of the Spanish Institute in London, the ongoing torship in Spain. Parallel to Guillén’s uneasiness in chapter
cultural richness of Panero’s interactions are also reflected 3 with others’ interpretations of his own identity in post-
in his correspondence with José Luis Cano and Juan Ruiz war Spain, Martínez Sierra was also intent on clarifying his
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Revist a de al ce s XXI Número 6 , 2024
