Cartafol de poesía, by Celso Emilio Ferreiro. The True Story of a Tiny Work

Abstract

This article addresses the problems presented by Cartafol de poesía, a literary initiative by Xosé Velo and Celso Emilio Ferreiro of which there is still an unclear perception even today. Such problems fundamentally affect its configuration, of imprecise contours, and the date of publication, 1935 or 1936. Initially, Cartafol de poesía's reception before the Civil War and in the period after the war is studied. The following examines, on the one hand, the testimonies of Celso Emilio Ferreiro relating to this title and, on the other, the presence of it in successive editions of his work. Having carried out these tasks, light is shed on Cartafol de poesía's history in the context of the poetic production of the author of Celanova before 1936. The two conclusions that are reached, from the comparison of three original copies, is that Cartafol de poesía is a tiny work consisting of cardboard covers to sequentially store a collection of poems, of which only two would be distributed, which is dated the first half of 1936.