I would like to know if any list subscribers are interested in the radical Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo.
I have written an article entitled 'Poetry and Politics: The Spanish Civil War Poetry of Cesar Vallejo' (Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 1992) and a book, El Pensamiento Politico de Cesar Vallejo y la Guerra Civil Espanola (Milla Batres Editorial, Lima, Peru, 1993). The book contains a conclusion which examines the relevance of Vallejo's political ideas today. Both this conclusion and the above article are available from me on request.
In my view Vallejo was perhaps the only Latin American poet of his generation to understand the complex politics of the interwar years, and certainly the only Hispanic poet to sucessfully incorporate Marxist ideas in his poetry. Vallejo's political formation was influenced principally by Mariategui, Gramsci, Marx, and for a while Max Eastman.
Today Vallejo is regarded as Peru's greatest poet and one of the best in Hispanic literature. The debate over his ideas and poetry still goes on in Peru and Latin America, and continues to have political influence.
I expect to begin some new research on Vallejo soon and it would be good to have contact with others who are interested in his work.
George Lambie
De Montfort University
Leicester
UK