Einsamkeiten. Galerien. Andere Gedichte

Antonio Machado's international fame is closely linked to his anti-fascist commitment on the side of the Second Spanish Republic. However, long before the turbulence of 20th-century Spanish history, Machado was one of the country's preeminent poets and a trailblazer for colleagues such as Juan Ramón Jiménez and Federico García Lorca, with whom he was friends. In Spain, Machado is considered part of the "Generation of 98". At a young age, he was one of the most important representatives of this new current, which was called "modernism". Romanticism, simplicity of heart, intellectual honesty and sincere melancholy are the characteristics that Max Aub listed to characterize Machado's work. To these should be added his ability to listen and weave the language of the common people into his literary texts.

Machado expanded his first volume of poems, "EInsamkeiten", published in 1902, into the volume of "Einsamkeiten, Galerien und anderen Gedichten" in the following years. In this new translation of the collection, Leopold Federmair attempts to do justice to the special sensitivity of these poems, in which simplicity and linguistic refinement are paired. The translator puts the emphasis on rhythm and word choice, the intensity of naming. The poetic work of Antonio Machado is thus once again available in German, filling a gap.

Further Information

Author: Antonio Machado

Translator: Leopold Federmair