The Generation of '27
Seville, December 16, 1927. A group of poet friends—group —gathered to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Góngora’s death. Thus was born the Generation of ’27, a literary movement— group —that stood out for its creative energy, its ties to the most important international movements of the time, and its connections to other arts.
The photograph of the Generation of '27 at the Ateneo de Sevilla. The image has become one of the symbols of the Generation of '27, although it excludes the women writers who were part of that literary and cultural scene.
This generation, the most significant in Spanish literature since the Golden Age, had an enormous influence on the cultural, political, and social life of its time and on subsequent generations.
WHAT WERE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENERATION OF '27?
01
TRADITION
The Generation of '27 succeeded in uniting the most groundbreaking avant-garde movements with the popular Hispanic tradition, reviving traditional forms of poetry and reinterpreting them with a modern sensibility.
• García Lorca’s *Romancero gitano* or Alberti’s *Marinero en tierra*: the lively, musical meter of the *romancero* and the popular songbook.
• "La voz en el viento" by Champourcin or "Cántico" by Guillén: sonnets and décimas from the Golden Age.
• "Isla sin tierra" by Josefina de la Torre or "Égloga, elegía, oda" by Luis Cernuda: an adaptation of traditional romance and Golden Age forms into intimate, avant-garde poetry.
02
PURE POETRY
In the 1920s, a movement advocating for “pure poetry” gained momentum. Its followers sought to strip the poem of everything they considered superficial —rhyme, stanzas, meter, and, especially, the poet’s emotional states— to leave only its essence. The leading figure of this movement was Juan Ramón Jiménez, whose influence shaped many poets of the Generation of ’27.
03
VANGUARDS
In the early 20th century, a series of artistic and literary movements emerged in Europe and Latin America. They were characterized by a break with traditional norms, experimentation with language, and structural innovation, creating an entirely new form of art.