Alberti, Rafael

Alberti, Rafael räfäĕl´ älbĕr´tē [key], 1902–99, Spanish poet. After abandoning an earlier career as a painter, Alberti published his first book, Marinero en tierra [sailor on dry land] (1925), which was widely applauded. He was a member of the Generation of 1927, which also included such figures as Vicente Aleixandre , Luis Buñuel , and Federico García Lorca . Alberti's poems show the influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez and of the Spanish classics, especially of Góngora . His poetic brilliance is revealed in Concerning the Angels (1929, tr. 1967), a collection of introspective lyrics with surrealist overtones. A Loyalist in the Spanish civil war, Alberti sought exile in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after Franco's triumph in 1939. Temporarily living in a number of cities including Paris and Rome, he did not return to Spain until 1977. His later poetry is enhanced by an intimate, spiritual lyricism. Alberti was also a noted playwright.

See selected poems tr. by M. Strand (1973) and by J. Elgurriaga and M. Paul (1981).

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