Spanish Literature, Culture and Politics: 20th century

Penn Libraries has developed its coverage of 20th century Spanish history and literature in recent (since the early 21st century) years. A basis for the collections is the Paul C. Smith endowment, which aims to provide general support for printed works of Spanish and Portuguese literature and culture. Paul Smith’s donations have particularly increased holdings of works by and about (many of them by Smith himself) the early 20th century political journalist and novelist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. The library has added to these, works that explore the connections among art, literature, politics and culture. At the same time, courses in the history of Spain, including the Spanish Civil War, have encouraged collecting on the war, the Republican exile, Francoist Spain and the transition.

Front cover of a Catalan magazine published in 1899

Collection Overview

Besides hundreds of monographs, acquisitions include the digitized primary document collection  Guerra Civil Espanola , cinema newsreels produced by the Francoist bureaucracy known as No-Do (Noticiarios y Documentales) , and a diverse collection of contemporary periodicals and manuscript materials, including letters from military prisoners to friends and families. Here are some examples of the latter:

The Spanish Civil War Library Research Guide is the most convenient introduction to part of these collections. In addition, the following searches in the Franklin Catalog provide examples of holdings on 20th century Spanish literature, culture and politics: