Vallejo and the Crisis of the Thirties

Author(s): Jean Franco

Source: Hispania, Vol. 72, No. 1 (Mar., 1989), pp. 42-48
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
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JeanFranco,ColumbiaUniversity

Vallejo and the

Crisis of the Thirties

The term "modernism"has now en- ruda, Vallejo,Alberti, Hernandez,Brecht,

croachedalmost completelyon the terrain Maiakovski-and their variousvisions of a
that was once also occupiedby the "avant- mass art. It is true that Btirgeris thinking
garde."For it seems that "modernism" with primarily oftheplasticartsbuthistheorization
its suggestionofmodernityandmodernization is symptomaticof the tendencyto leaveHis-
hasmoreto sayto contemporary sensibilities. paniccultureout of the pictureand thus to
"Avant-garde" is, afterall,as OctavioPazhas overlooksome of the most radicalexperi-
frequentlypointedout complicitouswith the ments.Amongthese we mightcountAlberti's
idea of progressandhence becomessuscep- "poetry in the street," Neruda'sreadings,
tible to obsolescence. Modernism,on the whichopenedup new publicsforpoetry,and
otherhand,has moreandmorecometo refer not least the poetryof Vallejo.Allthese ten-
to a generalcrisis in cultureof whichavant- dencies representquite differentresponses
gardemovementswere partialandoftencon- to the crisisof modernityandcanneitherbe
tradictoryfacets. This overlappingof ter- subsumedunderthe rubricof modernismnor
minology makes discussionof the "avant- of the avant-garde.It is the alternativeper-
garde"(even in the wake of Peter Bilrger's spectivesimplicitboth in TrilceandVallejo's
attemptedtheorization,increasinglydifficult, laterpoemsthatI wishto discussinthisessay.
especiallyas the periodization becomesmore Raymond Williamshasidentifiedtwo"basic
andmorevague. Most criticsrecognizethat contradictoryattitudes towards language"
experimentsandinnovations canbe identified in modernismand the avant-garde-"that
much earlier than the 1920s and also that which,engagingwithreceivedformsandthe
"avant-garde attitudes"havepersistedto the possibilitiesof new practice,treats language
presentlongafterthe demiseof the historical as materialin a socialprocess;andthe other
avant-garde.' Yetthere is a strongargument which,as in severalavant-garde movements,
for situatingthe avant-gardein the twenties sees it as blockingor makingdifficultiesfor
andregardingthe earlythirtieswhenwriters authenticconsciousness"(43). For Vallejo,
like Eluard,Aragon,Alberti,VallejoandNe- however,new practice and authenticcon-
rudajoinedthe CommunistPartyas marking sciousnesscouldnot dependon the individual
a radicalbreak.It is the dynamicsof thistran- alone. In Trilcewhererealityis primarily the
sitionthatinterestsme andthe differentstrat- linear law of evolutionarydevelopmentin
egies thatevolvedamongthis "revolutionary"whichthe individual is a mere subjecteffect,
groupof writers. Indeedthe poetry of the it is impossibleto envisagea new socialprac-
early thirties registers not only a universal tice since this wouldhave to transcendthe
crisis but the crisis of the poet. law of nature. Thus poetry is essentiallya
Peter Biirgerhas arguedthatthe historic processofdemystification inwhichthe subject
avant-gardecame to an end with its failure is recognizedas a necessary but transient
to destroythe institutionof art andto unite illusion.Thus althoughit appearspuzzlingat
art once againwith life practices.But such first sight that Vallejoshouldhave attacked
an opinionis tenableonlywhen we discount the LatinAmericanavant-garde forpracticing
a substantialnumberof poets-including Ne- those innovations-new spelling,new syn-
 VALLEJOAND THE CRISIS OF THE THIRTIES 43

tax, differentdistributionofwordsonthe page vidualisticpretensions.The poet represents

- whichhe himselfhad employedin Trilce, himselfas dismounting fromthe horsewhose
his targetturnsoutnot to be the transforma- intranscendent obedienceto destinybecomes
tion of languageitself so muchas the volun- the last wordof the poem:"micaballoacaba
tarismof avant-garde attitudes.In an article, fatigadopor cabecear/ a su vez, y entresue-
published in 1927 in Variedades,he lambasted fios, a cada venia, dice / que esti bien, que
the LatinAmericanavant-garde as being"tan todo esti muybien."Or again,in "Todoslos
ret6ricay faltade honestidadespiritual,como dias amanezcoa ciegas/ a trabajar paravivir;
las anterioresgeneracionesde las que ella y tomo el desayuno,/ sin probarni gota de
reniega"adding,"levantomivoz y acusoa mi 61, todas las mafianas," the poet is indistin-
generaci6nde impotenteparacrearo realizar guishablefromanyotherindividual andquickly
un espiritupropio,hechode verdadde vida, fades fromthe foregroundto becomeone of
en fin,de sanay aut6nticainspiraci6n humana" the insignificant"flecos de invisibletrama."
(Flores78). Subjectivityis never more than a flickering
WhatcouldVallejomeanby "truth,""life" illusionon the surfaceof the poem and bio-
and"inspiration?" Likehis use of wordssuch graphicalallusionsto Santiagode Chuco,the
as "sincerity"and "authenticity," they seem prisoncell, to his motherandsisters are de-
to tie art to experienceand to assumptions ployedonlyas temporarypropsinthisgeneral
thatexperiencegive access to truth.Hisver- dramain whichthe poet is everymantrying
dicton Maiakovski, forinstance,was thathis vainlyto claimindividuality througha language
art was declamatoryand empty "porhaber whichbothfostersthe illusionandundermines
traicionadolos trancesaut6nticosy verdade- it. The poems of Trilceas well as manyof
ros de la vida"(El artey la revoluci6n110). those of Poemashumanoscan thus be con-
Yet the difficultyof any access to those sidered"performances" or enactmentsof the
"true and authentic"life forms is patentin dramaof subjectivity inwhichthe "I"attempts
Trilcewhichemphasizesthe arbitrariness of andfailsto constituteitselfas a centeredhar-
language.Unlikesome membersof the avant- moniousandactingsubjectin a worldinwhich
gardewho celebratedthis freedomfromref- humanbeings are not free agents, agency
erentiality,Vallejodeploredit. In his note- being ascribedto nature.The geographical
books, he commentedthat "los surrealistas configurations of the poems-islands, penin-
y Larreabuscanlaliberaci6n delespirituante- sulas, archipelagos,sea anddry land,moun-
riora la abolici6nde las condicionesde clase, tainandplain,provideobjectivecorrelatives
de la burguesiay hastaindependientementeforprocesseswhichtranscendtheindividual.
de ella" (El arte y la revoluci6n138). But For manyof the poets of this periodthe
althoughrejecting voluntarismand experi- conversionto communism wouldbe retoldin
mentforits ownsake, Vallejodidbelievethat terms of a personalmythof transformation.
languagemust be made to reveal the non- But in the case of Vallejo,historicalmaterial-
coincidencebetweenthe grammatical andthe ismwasgraftedontothe evolutionary thinking
existentialsubject.Languagemusttherefore that underpinned Trilce.His poeticswere al-
be realistor at least translateadequatelythe ways cognitivedespite the fact that he con-
true relationshipof humanityto nature. In stantly spoke of the sensibilityof the poet
Trilce,therefore,the subjecteitherenactsan claimingthat poetry escaped consciousness
alienationfromrealityor languagerefers to anddependedon a process of transmutation
a realitythatthe subjectcannotrecognize.It of lifeexperienceswhichhe comparedto the
is this gapbetweenrealityandthe illusionof process by which a tree absorbsnutrients
subjectivitythat is constantlyforegrounded. fromthe soil.
In these poems, the subjectagainandagain His visits to Russia,however,confirmed
attemptsto actas anagentonlyto be exposed his belief that changecouldnot come about
as an imposter,a mere subjecteffect. Poetry through the voluntaristic action of the poet
is essentially a form of demystification in since it was "laobrade un conjuntode fuerzas
which even those poems which take off from y leyes deterministas de la vida social. Ella
a biographicalanecdote- "Esta noche des- no seri unaimprovisaci6nsino unaelaboraci6n
ciendo del caballo, ante la puerta de la casa, racional y cientifica, lenta, evolutiva, ciclica
donde / me despedi con el cantar del gallo," y revolucionaria."3He conceived social change
quickly undermine any humanistic or indi- as a linear single historicalprocess.4
44 HISPANIA 72 MARCH 1989

The consequencesof thisforVallejo's later patospuestostengoquemorir.Elegiacivica"

poeticsare twofold.In the firstplacethe indi- dated1st ofJanuary,1930,he makesthe poet
vidualappearsto be intransitionbetweentwo an instrumentof destruction,"cruel,violent,
radicallydifferentstages of humanity. Second- demonic,frightening." "Enmi reconocer6is
ly- andherethereis a departurefromTrilce, tranquilamente a ese hombreque disparasin
the poet stilllives the anguishof a being-for- importarle laposturaquesu adversario herido
deatheventhoughthereis a newkindof emer- escoge paralamuerte."In"Unfantasmareco-
gent humanitywhose collective conscious- rre Europa," the poet turnson his ownfamily
ness overcomesthe mere mortalityof the as representativesof a moribundclass. It is
individual.It is this latterwhichis the most not knownwhatVallejothoughtof allthis al-
problematicaspect of Vallejo'spoetry for in thoughin an articleon Maiakovski, he spoke
exaltingthe "newman"the poet downgrades disparagingly of "esafaraindula
de artistasre-
himselfto a lowerrungon the hierarchy. volucionarios," que aparentanserlo con la
In Vallejo'searlypoetryas I havealready mismafacilidadcon que aparentarian ser va-
suggested, and as JulioOrtega shows, the lientes, mayoresde edad o nocharniegos."5
dehumanization of the poet/charactercorre- Onlypraxiscouldmakea militant.
spondsto the intranscendence of the subject. Thus it is interestingto compareVallejo's
Thisintranscendent "I,"sometimesidentified reactionto the worldcrisisofthe earlythirties
withthe empirical"I"of the poet, is also the withthatof otherleftistpoets, suchas Rafael
motivatingforcein manyof the laterpoems. Alberti,especiallyas the two of them often
Butinsomeofthese poemsa newactormakes crossedpathsat this period.Alberti'sconver-
an appearance--theidealizedmilitantwho, sionto communism occurredduringthe same
as the representativeof a newerainthe evolu- period as Vallejo's.Like Vallejo,he visited
tion of mankind,takes precedentover the Russiaseveraltimes andhis journal,Octubre
poet'sself-representation. advertisedVallejo's novel,Tungsteno.Yetthe
The denunciation ofthe petitbourgeoisart- poeticpracticeof the twocouldnothavebeen
ist and intellectualwas, of course, a com- more differentas can be appreciatedfroma
monplaceof the period.Even in the sixties, comparisonbetweenAlberti'spoem"S.O.S."
in the thinkingof Che Guevara,explicitcom- andVallejo's"Paradoen unapiedra."A com-
parisonswere made between the praxisof parisonof these poemsis particularly appro-
the militantand the more restrictedrole of priate since both poets seem to have been
the writer. Yet two of Vallejo'scontem- inspiredby the samedocumentissuedby the
poraries,AlbertiandNeruda--foundno diffi- Associationof Revolutionary Writersto which
cultyin identifyingthe poet withthe militant. both VallejoandAlbertiwere affiliated.This
Neruda'sOrphicvisionin his CantoGeneral documentproclaimsthe bankruptcy ofcapital-
bothresacralizesthe poet andcelebratesthe ism. "Elnfimerode los paradospasa de 50
people.Alberti,anearlierconvertto theCom- millonesy continuaaumentando. Multitudde
munistPartythanNerudaandinfluencedby desocupadosy de hambrientosdesfilande-
Maiakovski's insistenceonpoetry'ssocialtask lante de inmensosdep6sitosrebosantesde
recasts the poet as militant,declaring:"In- viveres y unpufiadode hombresde finanzas,
tent6 componerversos de trescientaso cua- quedictansu arbitraria voluntada la sociedad
trocientassilabasparapegarlospor los mu- capitalista,empleacomo combustiblede sus
ros, adquiriendoconcienciade lo grandey locomotoras,las cosechas de los campos,
hermosode caerentrelas piedraslevantadas, arrojael trigo, el caf6 y el al mar,
conlos zapatospuestos,comodeseael h6roe quemaenormescantidadesdeazuicar lanay algod6n,
de la coplaandaluza" (Nantell18). Whathad a fin de mantenera la alturade sus intereses
changedfor Albertiwas not the role of the personalesla tasa de sus beneficios,Uinico
poet but the functionof literature:"Anadie motorde la economiacapitalista.Los salarios
se le ocurria entonces pensar que la poesia de la claseobreray de los campesinospobres,
sirviese para algo mis que el goce intimo de asi, como de los trabajadoresintelectuales,
ella. A nadie se le ocurria. Pero los vientos caen con una ripidez catastr6fica.El espectro
que soplabanya iban henchidos de presagios" del hambre, un porvenir desesperado y sin
(Nantell4). For Alberti, there was nothingto salida bajo el r6gimen capitalista, he aqui la
stop the poet from becoming a militant. In- realidady el horizonte de las masas trabajado-
deed, in his first politicalpoem, "Con los za- ras."6

Alberti's"S.O.S."publishedin his journal
Octubreincorporatesthese factualelements
withlittleembellishment.7
The facts seem to
speakfor themselves:
6 millones de hombres,
12 millones de manos muertas.
de ojos descejarrados por la angustia
la miseria y el hambre que agrandanpor las noches la
invasi6nde las horaslentas del odio y del insomnio.
Y el cielo se pregunta por el humo
Y el humo por el fuego
Y el fuego por las fibricas por el carb6nque espera dejar
de ser al fin pared6n muerto de las minas.
Los parados del mundo se levantan,
crecen,
se empifianlos parados como el mar,
se derrumban,
se levantan
y crecen.
El capitalprefiere dar de comer al mar.
En Brasilel caf6 se quemay es hundidoentre las algas,
el azdicaren Cubaarrojadaen las olas se disuelve salada,
las balas de algod6n en Norte America
y los trenes de harina son volcados en la prisa invasora
de los rios.
The descriptionof the ever-increasing
mass
of unemployed, juxtaposedwiththe documen-
tationof waste culminateswiththe directcall
to struggle:
Amigos,
Escuchad.
?Que?
Nos llaman.
The readeror listeneris invitedto identify
withthose who haverespondedto the callto
action.Yetthe poemis littlemorethana state-
ment. Not surprisingly, Albertinamedsome
of the poemsof thisperiod,"Consignas,"
em-
phasizingthe propaganda natureof the verse.
His responseto the crisis was thus to incor-
poratepoetryinto politicalaction.
Vallejo's"Parado en unapiedra"uses much
of the same materialas Alberti'sas well as
apostrophe,rhetoricalquestionsand incita-
tions which were the commoncurrencyof
committedpoetry at this period.But in this
poem, Vallejouses hyperboleto emphasize
the fact that this is not simplyan economic
crisis but a crisis of progress. Focusingon
the "parado," he holdshim up as a warning.
Whereas Alberti focuses on the mass, Vallejo the death of humanity. The closing lines of
focuses on the individualwhose idleness dis- the poem again evoke the isolated, immobile
torts the entire process of evolution. figure:
Parado en una piedra,
desocupado,
astroso, espeluznante,
a la orilla del Sena, va y viene.
VALLEJOAND THE CRISIS OF THE THIRTIES 45
Del rio brota entonces la conciencia,
con peciolo y rasgufios de arbol avido:
del rio sube y bajala ciudad,hecha de lobos abrazados.
The capitalistcityis reflectedinthe motion
of the river. This image of a city made by
embracingwolves at a literallevel refers to
the conspiracyagainstthe workersbutit also
allies capitalismwith the strugglefor exis-
tence in whichthe wolveshavecome out on
top. What gives the workersuperiorityis
the laborof whichthe "parado" has been de-
prived,forworkinvolvesbothdestructionand
construction.Thus the workeris described
as "fundidor del cafi6n,que sabe cuantaszar-
pas son acero."The use of the word"zarpas"
recallsthewolvesofcapitalism butworktrans-
formsthe pawinto steel andcanon.Whatis
interestingis the way thatthe naturalevolu-
tionismof Trilcesurfaces here as a super-
ceded stage of humanprogress.
In "S.O.S."Alberti had personifiedna-
ture--"el cielo se preguntapor el humo"--
thusemphasizing the factthatunemployment
is againstnature.But in Vallejo'spoem, the
stoppageaffects some very specificaspects
of nature-metals, seeds, the laurel,water
andthe earth.Naturethusoffersthe potential
whichhumanlabormustcompletebutwhich
it cannotcompleteas longas it is subordinate
to a primitivestrugglefor life. Similarlythe
worker'sbody can eitherbe "espeluznante"
or can be the motorof progressthatis now
haltedby unemployment:
ique transmisi6n entablansus cien pasos!
ic6mo chilla el motor en su tobillo!
icomo grufie el reloj, paseandose impacientea sus espal-
das!
ic6mo oye deglutir a sus patrones
el trago que le falta, camaradas
y el pan que se equivoca de saliva...
Nothingillustratesbetterthe differencebe-
tween Vallejoand Albertithan these lines
whichturnthe partsof the bodyintopotential
machinesof progress.In Vallejo,the factsdo
not speakfor themselvesandthe aimof the
poem goes beyondpropaganda or denuncia-
tion. Onlythe seeminglyhyperboliccanforce
recognitionofthe crisiswhichmaybringabout
y, oy~ndolo, sinti~ndolo, en plural, humanamente
ic6mo clava el relimpago
su fuerza sin cabeza en su cabeza!
y lo que hacen, abajo, entonces, lay!
46 HISPANIA 72 MARCH 1989

imis abajo, camaradas, art. He confidentlyechoes the

revolutionary
el papelucho, el clavo, la cerilla, Sovietwriters'claimsthat in Russiathe "ha
el pequefio sonido, el piojo padre!
muerto ... el escritor de bufete y de levita,
The lighteningthat strikes the brainof the librescoy de mon6culo,que se sienta dia y
workerand whichthe poet feels "inplural, noche ante unamurallade volimenes, igno-
humanly" is anirrational
force,somethingthat randola vidaen carney hueso de la calle y
thwartshumanandpluraldevelopment.This del camino.Hamuerto,asimismo,el escritor
sense of suspensionis reinforcedby the list bohemio, "sofiador," ignorante,perezoso y
of objectsthat close the poem- the paper, anirquico"(El artey la revoluci6n 116).It was
the nail,the match,the littlesound,the father onhiswayto a meetingof writersandintellec-
louse-all of which still function("hacen") tualsthat he lost the wayandwas led to his
andyet are likeprimitiveremnants,eachob- destinationby the "literarycritic,Vigodsky,"
ject incomplete,meaninglessin isolation.If possiblythe same Vygotskywho was the as-
"sense"is to be made, it can only be made sociateof Bakhtinandthe authorof the book
"plurally" and "humanly," that is, not by an Psychology ofArt (Rusiaen 1931[86]). Unfor-
isolatedindividual.The "paradoen una pie- tunatelythispotentiallyfascinating encounter
dra"is not simplya victimnor one of a mass was ephemeral.Vygotsky'sviewthatthought
but ratherthe allegoryof the povertyof indi- andpsychologicaldevelopmentare dialogical
vidualism. wouldcertainlyhaveappealedto Vallejo.9
The poeticvoicein "Parado en unapiedra" Vallejo's visitsto the SovietUnioncoincided
is didactic,yet ambiguous.The deictic,"Este withperiodsof intensedebateoverthe nature
es trabajadores,aquel,"reinforcesthe dis- of revolutionaryart before socialistrealism
tancebetweenthe speaker,the comradeshe had become dogma. What Vallejobrought
addresses and the "parado"who seems to backfromthe SovietUnionwasthe conviction
belongto a thwartedstage of evolution.The that both the practiceand the institutionof
poem is addressedto a more evolvedcollec- art mustundergoradicalchangeundersocial-
tive stage of humanityin whichthe "parado" ism. Forthose livingin capitalistsocieties, it
is viewedas an anachronism.8 meant that the poet, writer and intellectual
Vallejocomes nearestto describinghowa must take second place to the militant.Al-
cognitiveaestheticsmightworkin his discus- thoughin "Paradoen unapiedra,"he situates
sions of the filmsof Eisenstein.Describinga himselfamongthe workershe addresses,in
series of montagesequences-for instance, other poems he makesit clearthat there is
a bullcouplingwitha cow,banknotesfalling- a hierarchyof humanworthin whichthe poet
Vallejoarguesthatthese filmsrepresent"una is inferiorto the militant.This readjustment
gangapsicol6gicadesconocidaparael subjeti- of the role of the poet and the intellectual
vismocapitalistadel cinema... Estamosaqui was, of course, not uncommonduringthis
anteunapsicologianueva.Lapsiquisquenos period.Muchof Jos6 Revueltas'sworkwres-
revelaEisensteinno es unapsiquisindividua- tles withthe problemof the role of the intel-
listae introspectiva,sino socialista,cordialy ligentsiain the revolutionary movement.Va-
objetiva"(Rusiaen 1931 [86]). Significantly Ilejolikemanyotherswouldidentifythewriter
he stresses that montagedoes not consist withthe petitebourgeoisiewhodidnotbelong
merelyof juxtaposition but suggests thatra- to a revolutionaryvanguard.In one of the
tional connectionsmust be made between essays describinghis visit to Russia,he re-
disparatephenomena.Eisenstein'suse of cordsthe experienceof sittingin an audience
synecdoche-hands throwingdowntools to of Sovietworkers:
represent the decision to strike- has its 6sta la masa socialista, dinaimicay tkcnica, me estaba
parallelsin a poem, such as "Paradoen una ensefiando, a mi, pequefio burgu6s, contemplativoy ar-
piedra";for what Graciain terms "anact of bitrario,indolentey egoista, cuiles son y serun los derro-
teros, el signo, la f6rmuladialrctica de la nueva sociedad
understanding"is necessary in order to grasp por la que lucha. Esta masa me dice ahora: La sustancia
the analogy between the apparently discon- primera de la revoluci6nes el amor universal. Su forma
nected terms, "papelucho,""cerilla""sonido" necesaria e ineluctablees la lucha. Pero, mafiana,cuando
and "padrepiojo." la lucha pase,--puesto que pasari, puesto que &saes
la ley de la historia--la forma de amor seri el abrazo
Vallejo's visits to the Soviet Union, re- definitivode todos los hombres. Y entonces tendri cabida
corded in two books which now seem exces- en los combatientes de hoy, forjadoresde este porvenir,
sively naive shed further light on his view of todo cuanto, de una u otra manera, expresa la existencia
 VALLEJO
AND THECRISISOF THETHIRTIES 47

de esa materiaprimade la historia,que es, a la vez, la that he cannotaspireto this. The individual
raz6nde ser de todarebeldiay de todaluchasocial:el is a beinginvadedby death"en
amor... Yoguardola ensefianza,sumisay racionalmente qui6nse me
(20).
hace tardediariamente,/ en qui6nestoy ca-
and"rationally" lladoy mediotuerto."Individualism is notonly
"Humbly" representsthe con- a formof mortalitybut also of mutilation.
ditionsunderwhichthe poet canbe admitted This representation of the poet'senforced
to the revolution.Butthisalsoexplainsa curi- humilitysurfaceswith fullforcein "Himnoa
ous characteristicof some of Vallejo'scom- los voluntariosde la Repuiblica" in whichthe
mitted poems- the fact that the poet can universalityof the "voluntario" is contrasted
only describe revolutionaryconsciousness witha strangelyagitatedpoet: "corro,escri-
from outside or witnessrevolutionaryacts bo, aplaudo,/ lloroatisbo,destrozo,apagan,
froma distance.In "Losmineros,"for exam- digo / a mi pecho que acabe, al bien, que
ple, it is the miners who are "creatorsof venga."In these poems, there is an odd re-
profundity" and the poet is their celebrant, versalof the avant-garde hubrisfor the poet
singerof a praisepoemwhichdescribesthose shrinksinto insignificance:
he cannotemulate: al no caberentremis manostu largoratoextAtico,
iLoora su naturaleza amarillenta, quiebrocontratu rapidezde doblefilo
a su linternamigica. mi pequefiezen trajede grandeza.
... iSalud,oh creadoresde la profundidad!...(Es formi-
dable). Againthe "doblefilo"of the militiaman
con-
trasts withthe singularityandthe inferiority
This is botha visualimageof the minersun- of the poet. The role of the poet in manyof
dergroundwith their lamps but also a the poems of Espafiaapartade mi estecdliz
metaphorof transformation andresurrection thus becomesexternalto the strugglewhich
whichmakethe minersagentsof change(the he salutes,weeps or feels: "Mdlaga, quelloro
magiclantern)andtrue intellectuals(creado- y lloro!","Elpoetasaludaal sufrimiento arma-
res de la profundidad). The poet's voice is do!""Salud,hombrede Dios,matay escribe."
placedinparentheses"(Esformidable)" imply- "Aldjome de mi gritandofuerte:Abajomi ca-
ing thathe has no role in this transformationdAver...Y sollozo.""Dioste salve, te guie y
except as celebrant. te dd alas, padrepolvoque vas al futuro."
Likewise,in"Salutaci6n Ang61ica,"Vallejo's
praise poem for the Bolshevikmilitant,the placeshimina very
allejo's"humility"
poet addressesthe Bolshevik,celebrating: V different category from the avant-
tu calordoctrinal,frio y en barras, gardeor a poet likeNerudawho canconvert
tu afiadida
manerade mirarnos the Spanishcivilwarintoa personaltragedy.
y aquesostuyospasosmetalirgicos, Hiscommunism was howeverarticulatedwith
aquesostuyospasosde otravida.
a long-standingpreoccupationwith the illu-
Y digo, bolchevique, tomandoesta flaqueza
en su ferozlinajede exhalaci6nterrestre: sory natureof the subject.In Trilcethe "I"
hijonaturaldel bieny del mal enacts the dramaof a subjectivitystruggling
y viviendotalvezporvanidad,paraque digan, for humanityalthoughit is merelyan instru-
me dantus simultineasestaturasmuchapena, mentin an impersonalprocess. Inthe poems
puesto que tfi no ignorasen quinnse me hace tarde writtenafter1930,the
diariamente teleologyhas changed
en quinnestoy calladoy mediotuerto. anda new destinyfor humanityis envisioned
because Vallejobelieved-as did Aragon,
Here the poet says (describes)andyet is si- Brechtandmanyothers- thatcapitalism had
lent. "Digo,""digan""estoycallado." The si- enteredintoits deathagony.ForVallejo,the
lence is the silence of death for unlikethe Utopianhope is not onlythe achievementof
Bolshevik, he cannot claim "simultaneous a just society but even morethe outrageous
statures,"the staturesof both humanbeing hope of conqueringdeath. Whatmakeshim
and someone who belongs to the "other life" different from the avant-gardeis that he be-
i.e. to posterity. The poet represents himself lieved this hope to be a rational one.
as the being for death, an isolated individual
admiringthe Bolshevik from below, desiring M NOTES
those "simultaneousstatures"- of individual 'Anexampleof this is the "avanzada"
in Chilein the
and of the collective and universalpersona of late seventies,describedby NellyRichard.
the militant- thoughhe is forcedto recognize 2"Laobrade arte y el mediosocial,"en El artey la
48 HISPANIA 72 MARCH 1989

revoluci6n(49). Cambridge: HarvardU. Press, 1984.

3"Existeel artesocialista?" en El artey la revoluci6n Flores, Angel. Aproximacionesa Cesar Vallejo.Long Is-
(40). landCity,N.Y.:Las Americas,1971.2 vols.
4"Elmovimiento consustancialde lamateria," en Con- Montero,Enrique."Octubre. Artistasy escritoresrevo-
tra el secretoprofesional(24). lucionarios." 1933-abril,1934.ix-xxiii.In-
junio-julio
5"El caso Maiakovski,"en El artey la revoluci6n(10). cludedinthefacsimileeditionof thisjournalpublished
Sincemy pointin this articleis a ratherrestrictedone, in Vaduz,Lichtenstein: ToposVerlagAG, 1977.
I donotlistallcriticswhohavediscussedVallejo's poetics. Nantell, Judith. Rafael Alberti. Poetry of the Thirties.
However,foraninterestingcommentonhisindebtedness Athens:U. of GeorgiaPress, 1986.
to contemporary Sovietstyle,see NoelSalomon(218-20). Ortega, Julio. Figuraci6n de la persona. Barcelona:
On the way that Vallejo'stheatricalworksreflect the EDHASA,1971.
transition,see Jos6 MiguelOviedo(3-12). Oviedo,Jose Miguel."Vallejo entre la vanguardia y la
6"Funci6n revolucionariadelpensamiento," en El arte Revoluci6n." Hispamerica 2 (6 abril1974):3-12.
y la revoluci6n(17-18). Paz, Octavio. Los hijos del limo; del romanticismoa la
7Octubre,May1, 1933.Onthisjournal,see Enrique vanguardia.Barcelona:Seix Barral,1974.
Montero'sintroductionto thefacsimile"Octubre, Escrito- Richard,Nelly."Marginsand Institutions.Art in Chile
res y artistasrevolucionarios."
Madridjunio-julio,1933- since1973."Specialissue ofArtandText(Melbourne,
abril1934.Vaduz,Lichtenstein: ToposVerlagAG,1977. 1987).
ix-xxxvi. Salomon,Noel."Algunos aspectosde lo 'humano' enPoe-
8Thereis a detaileddiscussionof Vallejo,evolution mas humanos."In Angel Flores, Aproximaciones(II
andsciencein the unpublished byChristiane
dissertation 218-20).
von Bulow:"CesarVallejo.Allegoryandthe Dialectics Vallejo,Cesar. El artey la revoluci6n.Lima:Mosca Azul,
of Enlightenment."Dis. Stanford1983.See alsoher up- 1973.
comingarticle"Vallejo's Venusde Miloandthe Ruinsof Contra el secretoprofesional Lima:
Language" in PMLA. MoscaAzul,1973.
9Fora discussionof the relationbetweenVygotsky's Obrapoetica completa.Lima:Mosca
psychologicaltheoriesandBakhtin's theoryof language, Azul,1974.
see KaterinaClarkandMichaelHolquist(229-30). Rusia en 1931. Reflexionesal pie del
Kremlin.Lima:EditorialGraifica-Labor, 1965.
M WORKSCITED VanBulow,Christiane."CesarVallejo:Allegoryandthe
Dialecticsof Enlightenment." Dis. Stanford,1983.
Alberti,Rafael."S.O.S."In facsimileof Octubre (May1, Williams,Raymond."Languageand the Avant-Garde."
1933)Vaduz,Lichtenstein: ToposVerlagAG, 1977. The Linguistics of Writing.Arguments betweenLan-
Biirger, Peter. Theory of the Avant-Garde. Tr. Michael guage and Literature.Ed. Nigel Fabbet al. Manches-
Shaw.Minneapolis:
U. of MinnesotaPress, 1984. ter: ManchesterU. Press, 1987.33-47.
Clark,KaterinaandMichaelHolquist.MikhailBakhtin.