Following on from Jorge
Luis Borges, the Argentina Independent continues the Beyond
Borges series with an author who, if Borges had not existed, would
almost certainly have become a more widely known advocate of the Spanish
American avant-garde. The Argentine poet Oliverio Girondo was, for many,
the best Argentine poet of the 20th century and today remains one of the most
treasured.
A Rival for Borges
Born in 1890, both Girondo and his wife, the contemporary
poet Norah Lange, mysteriously shifted their dates of birth back one year to
1891.
The son of wealthy parents, he experienced a privileged
upbringing and a solid education was secured for him in prestigious schools in
England and France. A deal struck between Girondo and his parents meant that
even when he returned to Argentina to complete a law degree, he would still be
able to return to Europe every year.
Like Borges,
he encountered the exponents of the European avant-garde at an impressionable
age. Both authors played an active part in introducing the first of the
vanguardist movements to settle in Argentina, both became high profile writers
competing for the literary crown of Buenos Aires, and both fell in love with
the same woman.
The feud which ensued over Borges’ unrequited love for
Girondo’s wife has somewhat stolen the spotlight away from Girondo’s writing.
But, an irreverent and provocative author, a fierce observer of society, and a
demonstrable deep understanding of what it means to be human reveal Girondo as
a fit rival for Borges in many respects.
Advocating the Avant-Garde
Besides a brief attempt at theatre in 1915, and a unique
narrative effort named ‘Interlunio’ 1937, Girondo remained first and foremost a
poet. His three act play, ‘La Madrastra’ was an infectious melodrama,
afterwhich he says he “tore papers”, discarding his writing in cities as far
flung as Edinburgh, Seville, Bruges and Dakar, before eventually compiling new
writings with those he had saved into his first collection of poetry.
Revealing the obvious influence of French writer Guillaume
Apollinaire, ‘Veinte poemas para ser leidos en el tranvia’ was published in
France in 1922; the same year that Borges’ early poetry, ‘Fervor de Buenos
Aires’, was published in Argentina.
Together, they are regarded as the major initiators of the
avant-garde in Argentina, though rather than focusing on Argentine content,
Girondo’s work was inspired by a frenzy of foreign cities and more
international in its outlook. Having met with rave reviews in France and Spain,
it received more critical attention on home soil following the publishing of
its second edition.
Back in Buenos Aires, Girondo became heavily involved in the
avant-garde magazine ‘Martin Fierro’. Founded by Evar Méndez and named after José
Hernández‘s influential gauchesque poem, the magazine brought Girondo into
contact not only with Borges, but also with the great philosophical thinker Macedonio
Fernandez and the gauchesque novelist Ricardo
Güiraldes, with whom he would go on to found Sociedad Editorial Proa.
Méndez later described Girondo as the great animator of the
movement, and it was he who had authored the ‘Manifesto de Martin Fierro’,
published in the fourth edition of the magazine on 15th May 1924.
As an advocate of the avant-garde, Girondo travelled to
the countries of Chile, Peru, Cuba, Mexico and the United States of America,
returning to France and then to Spain, where he published his second volume of
poetry, ‘Calcomanías’, inside the Madrid editorial ‘Calpe’, in 1925.
The book was well received on both sides of the Atlantic and
reviewed by Borges, who described Girondo as “a violent man who looks at
something for a time and then suddenly slaps it in the face, crumples it up and
holds on to it for safekeeping”.
Regardless, Girondo returned to Argentina with an increased
presence. Appearing on radio broadcasts alongside Güiraldes and
other exponents of the vanguardist movement, he concentrated his efforts on a
major overhaul of Martin Fierro, ensuring the success of the magazine for
almost another 25 years.
A Man of Words
Having travelled once again to Paris, Italy, Egypt and the
Basque region, Girondo returned to Buenos Aires for the launch of this third
book in 1932.
Probably the most talked about of Girondo’s six poetry
collections, ‘Espantapájaros’ is both provocative and memorable. Opening with a
formal tribute to Apollinaire, the book of around two dozen poems revels in
refreshing humour. Launched in Buenos Aires alongside a bizarre and
unprecedented publicity campaign, its first edition of 5,000 copies sold out in
only 15 days.
Described as so “spectacularly original that even with advanced warning you are still going to be more surprised by it than by anything else you have ever read in your life”, ‘Espantapájaros’ comes packed with expressions of double meaning where innuendo runs rife.
In Girondo’s hands, words acquire new and unexpected
meanings so that reading him rarely leaves you as you found him, leading to
several of his works being labelled untranslatable.
Like Borges, he also moved away from ultraist trends to
explore more elaborate metaphoric language. He was increasingly described as a
humourist poet and, where his earlier poetry had tended to center on the image,
the writing that followed began to reveal a love of linguistic experimentation
that bordered on dangerous.
With a title that already hints at its maturity, ‘Persuasíon
de los días’, published in 1942, is considered his most important work.
Including as many as 54 poems it is also his most extensive, and reveals the
playful sarcasm of ‘Espantapájaros’ to have been left far behind.
In a final irreducible gesture, ‘En la masmédula’ was
unleashed like a carefully planned whirlwind in 1954. A dark summation of his
work and a showcase of revolutionary syntax, it included poems such as ‘La
Mezcla’ and ‘Mi Lumía’, a poem that inspired authors such as Julio Cortázar.
Described by his protege, Enrique Molina, as “one of the
most daring adventures of modern poetry”, Girondo’s final book of 16 poems left
readers and critics so stunned that the publishing house, Losada, chose to
extend the volume on two separate occasions. ‘En la masmédula’
was republished once in 1956 with 26 poems, and again in 1963 as a
collection of 37.
A lifelong poet and truly revolutionary man of words,
Oliverio Girondo renewed and revived Argentine poetry over a period of 40
years. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, as well as the Argentine poet Leopoldo
Marechal have composed poems in his name, and musicians such as Fito Páez have
also dedicated songs to him; a testament not only to his own importance in
Argentine writing but also to his lasting influence.
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De THE (ARGENTINA) INDEPENDENT, 16/02/2012
Imagen1: Portada
de Espantapájaros
Imagen2: Oliverio
Girondo
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