From the oral tradition to the first authors
As in many countries, literature in the Canary Islands is based on oral tradition. Over time, genres opened up, giving way to epic poetry, baroque, neoclassical and even romanticism. As in the rest of Europe, artistic currents arrived on the islands, but a little later, shall we say! A few artists left their mark on the century: Antonio de Viana (1578-1650) and his sixteen-song poem on the conquest of Tenerife Antigüedades de las Islas Afortunadas ; José de Viera y Clavijo (1731-1813) and his Noticias de la historia general de las Islas Canarias ; Tomás de Iriarte (1750-1791), whose uncle was a disciple of Voltaire, is known for Fábulas Literarias (1782); or the military Nicolás Estévanez de Murphy (1838-1914), author of poems such as Canarias and Musa canaria . As for theater, let's not forget Ángel Guimerá, who gave his name to the oldest theater in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Born in Tenerife in 1845 and dying in Barcelona in 1924, he is renowned for his work, which combines the characteristics of Romanticism and Realism. He is one of the greatest exponents of the Catalan Renaissance. A marble bust can be admired in Tenerife and Barcelona.
And more recently
A number of 20th-century writers have also left their mark on the Canaries. Domingo Pérez Minik (1903-1989) is one of Spain's most critically acclaimed writers. He was awarded several prizes, including the National Theatre Prize in 1965, the Gold Medal for Fine Arts of the Cabildo de Tenerife in 1980 and the Literary Prize of the Canary Islands in 1984. Mercedes Pinto (1883-1976) was a novelist, playwright and poet, nicknamed the "Canarian Poetess". Her best-known novel is Él (1926), adapted for the screen a few years later, in 1952 by Luis Buñuel. Last but not least, Rafael Arozarena (1923-2009), who was born and died on the islands, wrote his best-known novel Mararía in 1973. Honorary member of the Canary Academy of Language, he was awarded the Canary Islands Literature Prize in 1988.
If I had to pick just two, they would be Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) and Pedro García Cabrera (1905-1981)
Although he spent most of his life in Madrid, it was on the Canary Islands, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, that Benito Pérez Galdós, Spain's greatest realist novelist, was born in the 19th century. He lived here until the age of 20, returning only once. Canary Islanders still celebrate the author thanks to his birthplace, now a museum. And for a long time, locals and tourists alike were able to admire his portrait on the old 1,000 peseta banknote. His work is vast, so for those who want to discover him, let's mention his best-known work: Episodios nacionales, which tells the story of 19th-century Spain in a fictionalized way, albeit in 46 volumes. It's important to note that his early writings are a blend of history and fiction. We could perhaps compare him to Honoré de Balzac, as the author aims to paint the middle class of his time. We might also mention Fortunata y Jacinta (1886-1887), often compared to Tolstoy's War and Peace, or Ángel Guerra (1891).
The second pen not to be forgotten is Pedro García Cabrera, the Canaries' most illustrious poet! Born in Vallehermoso on La Gomera, he wrote several collections, including the famous Liquenes and Transparencias fugadas. A fervent socialist activist, he was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment after the Civil War and was released in 1945.
When a great French novelist talks about the Canaries
Famous for his novels Les particules élémentaires and Plateforme, Michel Houellebecq has also written about the Canary Islands. In 2000, he published Lanzarote, inspired by the island of the same name. In its first edition, it was a boxed set including the story and a photo album of the island's landscapes. This story, led by an alter ego of Houellebecq, is a disenchanted travelogue about middle-class leisure tourism. Swingers, pedophiles and cults are also the themes of this story. Five years later, the author revisited the subject with his novel La Possibilité d'une île, also set on the island of Lanzarote. The author was awarded the Prix Interallié in 2005, and three years later adapted the story for the screen. The film was shot on the archipelago.
New authors not to be missed
Las Palmas is home to an author born in 1963 to a multicultural family: Jonathan Allen. He grew up speaking Spanish, English and French, but built his identity around the Canaries. Deeply rooted in and in love with his hometown, he is a university professor there. He is also the author of several novels, including Sangre Vieja (2015) and El Conocimiento (2017). Between 2004 and 2008, he published Arturo Rey de Erbania, a historical fresco depicting the period of French influence on the Canary Islands. With his novel Julie et la guillotine, published by Éditions L'Harmattan in 2014, he reaches France and the French. In it, he tells the story of a young high-school student in Paris linked to the fate of her ancestor who was guillotined during the Revolution. In 2018, he published two tales and a biographical essay, Les Voyages de Balzac . He creates a kind of imaginary bridge between the Fortunate Islands and the world of the illustrious writer.
Éditions L'Harmattan has created a Lettres canariennes collection featuring Jonathan Allen, as well as Isabel Medina(Olympe de Gouges, la liberté pour bannière), Rosario Valcarcel(Moby Dick aux Canaries)..
