Collected Letters

Manuel Altolaguirre. Epistolario, 1925 - 1959

Manuel Altolaguirre belonged to one of the most brilliant generation of Spanish poets. He was born in Malaga, June 1905 and died in Burgos, July 1959. A poet and a printer, he lived many years in the midst of an amazing cultural period, with friends such as Federico García Lorca, Emilio Prados, Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre, Luis Cernuda, Pedro Salinas, Gerardo Diego ad Jorge Guillén.

He was a remarkable man, who tackled diverse creative areas.  While he is mostly remembered as poet and printer, it would be unfair to overlook his work as literary critic, biographer of Garcilaso de la Vega, playwright, journalist, script writer, and film maker.

This book includes letters already published, and some unpublished with new correspondents, among them Jorge Guillén, who maintained a constant correspondence with Altolaguirre throughout the 1930´s. Juan Guerrero Ruiz, co-editor with Guillén of the periodical Verso y Prosa (1927-1928), was one of the first editors promoting Altolaguirre’s work.

The bookseller León Sánchez Cuesta not only provided books to Altolaguirre, but also kept him informed about the several editions of his publications, distributed by his bookstore. Manuel de Falla showed a father-like interest toward his young admirer’s activities.

British-Colombian hispanista and poet, Edward Sarmiento worked closely with Altolaguirre and Concha Méndez in the London presentation of the periodical “1616”, in the fall of 1934. Professor John B. Trend supported the initiative from Cambridge University.

Julio Mathías y Lacarra, a distant relative, became his agent for film projects in 1958. Camilo José Cela tried to include him in his ill-fated Antologia de la generación del 27. María Luisa Gómez Mena shared with Altolaguirre the last twelve years of his life.

The correspondence also includes letters from Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre, Juan de la Cabada, Paul Éluard, Bernabé Fernández-Canivell,
José Herrera Petere and María Zambrano. Most of these letters date from the post-Civil War period. Unfortunately, previous correspondence was destroyed by the bombing of his house in Madrid during the war.

The one hundred and twenty letters from friends and colleagues significantly enrich this volume, providing a better understanding of Altolaguirre’s ever-changing environment. This collection does not intend to include the poet’s complete correspondence, but it is a step in the right direction and will shed light on many aspects of his life and work.

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