Manuel Altolaguirre

MANUEL ALTOLAGUIRRE (Malaga, 1905-Burgos, 1959).
"Las islas invitadas", 1st Edition, 1936.
Publisher: Manuel Altolaguirre Printing House, Madrid.
Measurements: 13 x 9,5 cm.
Published in Madrid in 1936 by Imprenta Manuel Altolaguirre, Las islas invitadas is one of the fundamental works of 20th century Spanish poetry and one of the most representative books of the literary career of Manuel Altolaguirre, an outstanding member of the Generation of '27. This edition has a special historical and bibliographical interest, as it was printed by the author himself in the dramatic early months of the Spanish Civil War, a circumstance evoked in the dedication that accompanies the work and that turns the volume into a valuable testimony of a decisive period for Spanish culture.
More than a simple collection of poems, Las islas invitadas is a broad compilation of Altolaguirre's early creative period. It gathers 137 poems that cover practically all his poetic production up to that date, offering a complete vision of the evolution of one of the most delicate, spiritual and personal voices of contemporary poetry. Of that set, only four compositions came from the first edition of Las islas invitadas, published in 1926 by the Sur magazine and publishing house, which demonstrates the renewed and anthological character of this 1936 edition.
Altolaguirre's poetry is characterized by an extraordinary expressive transparency and a profound human dimension. His work conceives poetry as a form of knowledge and as a privileged means of communication between people. In his verses appear recurrently the contemplation of nature, the reflection on time, loneliness, love and the search for the essences hidden behind the appearances of the world. Far from grandiloquent rhetoric, the poet constructs an intimate and refined lyric that finds in simplicity one of its greatest virtues.
The figure of Altolaguirre is also of exceptional importance in the field of publishing and printing. Considered by many specialists as one of the greatest poetry printers of the 20th century, he produced some of the most emblematic literary collections and magazines of his time, turning each publication into a carefully crafted work of art. This double condition of poet and printer gives his books a singular appeal, in which the literary value is complemented by a remarkable typographic and editorial quality.
The reviewed copy corresponds to the first edition of 1936, in a format of 13 x 9 cm, preserving its original paperback binding and in excellent condition. The rarity of this edition, together with its relevance within Altolaguirre's production and the historical context in which it was printed, makes it a piece of extraordinary interest for collectors, bibliophiles and researchers of the Generation of '27. It is, without a doubt, one of the most important and difficult to find books of pre-war Spanish poetry.