Joan Salvat-Papasseit: simple is beautiful

There was a time, around the tenths of the 20th century, when Modernism gasped its last breath. Europe was shaking and art needed to reflect that: the time of the Avant-gardes busted out. They were a new form of art which was expressed in many different ways: Pablo Picasso chose Cubism; Edvard Munch, Expressionism; Salvador Dalí delighted the world with Surrealism, Joan Brossa tried new ways of linking sculpture and poetry, etc. And finally, Joan Salvat-Papasseit experimented in a new way of writing poetry called "cal·ligrames" or pattern poetry.

Joan Salvat-Papasseit was born in Barcelona in 1894. He came from a humble background and soon sympathized with socialism and anarquism. He wrote, besides social critique in Spanish and Catalan, beautiful and simple poetry. Unfortunately he was easily ill and died, aged only 30, of tuberculosis.

Although he didn't have a long life he left an imprint. His poetry is, as I have pointed out, usually simple and easy to understand; its plainness makes it survive across time. This is what makes it, in my opinion, wonderful and amazing: through easy words it is capable of creating very powerful images and awakening strong feelings in those who read it.

It is precisely for this fact that in the sixties Papasseit's words were recovered by Catalan songwriters of la Nova Cançó (the New Song) to raise their voice against Franco's dictatorship. What these songwriters did was putting music to Papasseit's poetry. One of his poems, "La casa que vull" was given music by the well-known musician Lluís Llach and, though I may not be able to fully appreciate it as I was born too late for that, I am sure its lyrics had enormous political power sang in front of an audience who claimed desperately for freedom.

Here you have the song and the lyrics:

LA CASA QUE VULL La casa que vull, que la mar la vegi i uns arbres amb fruit que me la festegin. Que hi dugui un camí, lluent de rosada, no molt llunys dels pins que la pluja amainen. Per si em cal repòs que la lluna hi vingui; i quan surti el sol el bon dia em digui. Que al temps de l'estiu niï l'oreneta al blanc de calç ric del porxo amb abelles. Oint la cançó del pagès que cava; amb la salabror de la marinada. Que es guaiti ciutat des de la finestra que es sentin els clams de guerra o de festa per ser-hi tot prest si arriba una gesta.

THE HOUSE I'D LIKE The house that I'd like, the sea must see it and surrounded with trees and its fruit. You'd get there through a path, shining with fine dew, not far from the pines by the raindrops smoothed. If I need some sleep the moon will be shining; and when the sun comes he'll say me good morning. And in summertime the nest from the swallow will be at the whitewashed porch accompanying the bees. I'd listen to the song of the peasant digging; I'd feel the salty air from the deep blue sea . I'd see town from the window I'd hear the buzz of war and of feast so I can get there when something occurs.

As I have pointed out, Salvat-Papasseit is well-known and present in school nowadays. In fact, one of his book, "El poema de la rosa als llavis" (The poem with a rose on the lips) is a mandatory reading for students. Also, he is known for his "cal·ligrames" or pattern poetry: he made poems with shapes. He was pure genius -for me-, above all, with this poem:


LES FORMIGUES. Camí de sol, per les rutes amigues - unes formigues. --> THE ANTS. On the sunny path, through friendly routes - some ants. (It is a pity the rhyme is lost in English!)

Yes, it is so simple, but I would never have thought about creating it!