Poetry is currently facing challenges on a global scale that may reshape its form while also offering the opportunity to redefine and expand the limits of lyricism. Though geopolitical and existential crises have inflicted severe harm on society, historically, such upheavals have often been wondrous for poetry, as poets are compelled to use language in ways they could not before. Today, we find ourselves surrounded by various crises (of ecological, political, ideological, and creative natures), making it more necessary than ever to map the diverse poetic responses emerging in their wake. This talk will focus on contemporary Spanish and Latin American poetry from an interdisciplinary perspective, charting the evolving landscape of lyricism. It is crucial to engage with the forces, threats, and opportunities that shape this ancient literary practice in our challenging times, both to understand its current state and to anticipate the directions it may take in the future.

Vicente Luis Mora is a professor at the University of Malaga, author and literary critic. He was director of the Master’s program in Creative Writing at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR). He has also been a visiting professor at Brown University (USA) and Stockholm University (Sweden). His research interests include 20th and 21st century Spanish literature (narrative and poetic), literary creation and the effects of technology on the writing process. He has published seven collections of verse poems and four novels (including Centroeuropa, winner of the Pen Translates 2022 prize). He has published essays and academic works such as El lectoespectador (2012), Pangea (2006), as well as the award-winning essays La huida de la imaginación (2019) and El sujeto boscoso (2016). Some of his novels, poems and short stories have been translated into English, French, German, Greek and Polish.