José María Eguren Rodríguez is the sole postmodernist poet —in particular, from the late Symbolist movement— to come from Peru. Born in Lima on July 7th, 1874, Eguren's writing style is notorious for its musicality, suggestive connotations, exoticism, use of free verse, and reliance on multi-layered symbolism. The best thing? He developed the movement on his own, wholly unaware of similar stuff blossoming all across Europe at the same time.
He was also a journalist, photographer, and painter.
Eguren's poems:
- Simbólicas (1911)
- La canción de las figuras (1916)
- Sombra (1929)
- Rondinelas (1929)
Tropes pertaining to Eguren's works:
- Ambiguous Situation: In "Ananké", is the girl the aforementioned Greek goddess of fate? Or is she an Anthropomorphic Personification of virtue itself? The text of the poem strongly implies the latter but the title and some verses favor the former.
- Bilingual Bonus: The title of "Reyes rojos" (translation: "Red Kings") spells the word 'eyes' in both English and Spanish. Let us tweak it a little so it's easier to notice "(R)eyes (r)ojos"note .
- Book Ends: Simbólicas features four poems titled "Lied" interspersed irregularly throughout the book. The opening poem is "Lied I", and is about a dawn riddled with pain and death, while the last entry is "Lied IV", about a dead person's body being found at night.
- Left Hanging: "Ananké" ends with a girl stating that she ought not to die for God doesn't want/love her. While that can be explained by the earlier insinuation of the girl only being able to hear the poetic ego's reclamations because she's a sinner, it's left ambiguous what happens to her next. Seeing that the book's Central Theme is death, it's possible that she indeed dies. However, it's also heavily implied that the girl is the titular Greek goddess, the deity of fate, and therefore unable to die.
- One-Word Title: Simbólicas (translation: Symbolics), Sombra (translation: Shadow), and Rondinelas.
- Page-Turn Surprise: The first edition of Simbólicas is laid out in a way that the larger poems are split precisely where the author wants them to be. The first page of "Las bodas vienesas" (translation: "The Viennese Weddings") ends without revealing who's getting married in such a pompous way in a trifle store of all places. That information is given on the next page—it's the Viennese Princess, who has a limp and is, actually, a puppet.
- Rule of Symbolism: In "Lied I", the dawn is described as the saddest light shining on a dying elm tree, unknown faces in the mist, and pain hidden by the pink sky.
- The X of Y: La canción de las figuras (translation: The Song of the Shapes).
