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Featured Author: Federico García Lorca
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Featured Author: Federico García Lorca
With News and Reviews From the Archives of The New York Times
In This FeatureReviews of Federico García Lorca’s Books Reviews of Federico García Lorca’s Plays Articles About Federico García Lorca Poetry Selections
Poets’ Column: 5 poems by Federico García Lorca from the pages of The New York Times, 1947-1976 Related Links
Roberto González Echevarría Reviews Leslie Stainton’s ‘Lorca: A Dream of Life’ (September 12, 1999) First Chapter: ‘Lorca’
The Associated PressFederico García Lorca in an undated photo.
‘Lament for the Death of Bullfighting and Other Poems‘
(February 27, 1938)
“[N]o poet of our times better combines the use of an exact folk language and its heightening images of universal significance. These translations keep the meaning intact . . .”‘Poems‘
(September 3, 1939)
“His poetry is a curious blend of folk song and sophisticated speech. . . . [The poems’] translation into English is a delicate operation. . . . a very great Spanish poet in the best of
English words.”‘Blood Wedding‘ and ‘Poems of F. García Lorca‘
(November 18, 1939)
“Neither, perhaps, will satisfy the pundits of translation; but then, what translation ever will?”‘The Poet in New York, and Other Poems‘
(May 25, 1940)
“All a translator can hope to do is suggest the quality of the original . . . in all truth, it must be said that [the New York poems] begin to sound dated . . . We prefer Lorca’s simpler, more
compelling poems of Spain.”‘From Lorca’s Theater‘
(February 29, 1942)
“. . . the first book-length translation of Lorca’s dramatic pieces to appear in the English language. . . . Above everything else they are pure theatre . . . They are violently original,
and the least of them is strangely beautiful.”‘The Gypsy Ballads of Federico García Lorca‘
(June 14, 1953)
“‘The Gypsy Ballads’ of Federico García Lorca are so purely Spanish in their conception that the greatest of our poets would have a difficult time transferring their exact beauty
and meanings into English. On the whole, however, this is a work worthy of the most discriminating library . . .”‘Poet in New York‘ and ‘Poem of the Deep Song‘
(November 20, 1988)
“[The] lovely poem, ‘The Six Strings,’ apparently spontaneous and simple, yet baroque in its play of conceits, is typical of Lorca’s early work in books like ‘Poem of the
Deep Song,’ now published in a new version by Carlos Bauer . . . In its orchestration of peaks and valleys, of introspection and of the cruelty of modern industrial life, ‘Poet in New York’ is stunning.”‘Bitter Oleander’ to Celebrate the Founding of the Neighborhood Playhouse
(February 12, 1935)
“Lorca’s drama may have something of the poetry of Spanish peasantry among the songs and simples of its speech. But the production is so fretted with studio attitudes and so consciously
formalized that nothing comes out of it.”Federico García Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding’ Acted by a New Stages Company
(February 7, 1949)
“From our point of view they are slight plays. But they rise out of the life of simple people; and they are written with the virtuosity of a poet and singer.”García Lorca’s ‘The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife’
(June 15, 1949)
“. . . a bucolic whim written, it is said, in revolt against the realism of contemporary Spanish drama. . . . a bit on the thin side. To avoid giving an impression of naive repetition, it needs
a stylized performance designed like a piece of music.”Katina Paxinou in ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ from the Spanish of Lorca
(January 8, 1951)
“[T]his study in country cruelty is not so much a drama with plot and theme as a tone poem that evokes a dark mood. . . . Uneventful and unsubstantial as a drama, ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’
is a difficult piece to act by a company collected for one engagement.”‘Yerma,’ Lorca Poetic Tragedy, Offered by Loft Players in the Circle Theatre
(February 8, 1952)
“. . . emerges as a play, rather skeletal in form, embellished by verses that sometimes sound trivial and empty. There are moments, however, when the drama succeeds in developing the poetic imagery
necessary for such undertakings.”Theatre: ‘Blood Wedding’
(April 1, 1958)
“[T]his fiery poem by Federico García Lorca is a difficult work, as previous productions have disclosed. . . . it is all form and mood and it needs to be played perfectly by a company that
is finely attuned. . . . [T]his is a stirring performance by several actors who have caught the beat of García Lorca’s tragic writing.”‘The Tragicomedy of Don Cristobita and Dona Rosita’: Another García Lorca Play Off Broadway
(May 30, 1958)
“The work is not in the usual dark, brooding style of Spain’s greatest modern poet and playwright. And, there is a reason for it. ‘The Tragicomedy’ originally was written by García
Lorca for the traditional Spanish puppet theatre. . . . In the final analysis, ‘The Tragicomedy’ emerges as an uneventful and unsubstantial dramatic piece.”García Lorca’s ‘If 5 Years Pass’ Opens at Stage 73
(May 11, 1962)
“More tableau than drama, this little-known work by Spain’s celebrated lyric poet comes only flutteringly to life on the stage. . . . Though García Lorca’s theme is poignant, his characters
are mostly symbols, and their long, dolorous exchanges grow wearying.”Audience Gripped By Street Play
(September 2, 1962)
“A troupe of doughty actors put on a play by Federico García Lorca last evening using East Fourth Street, between Avenues C and D, as an outdoor theatre. . . . Somehow the creative spirit
of a Spanish master killed in Granada twenty-six years ago lingered on in the cluttered street.”‘Yerma’ at Lincoln Center
(December 9, 1966)
“Certainly a part of the difficulty lies in the playwright’s urgent wish to sustain for nearly an evening’s length a single, compulsively reiterated state of mind. . . . But there is
an additional burden imposed . . . by the portentiousness, the studied pausing, the statuesque earnestness of the playing.”Madrid: Triumph of Lorca’s ‘Yerma’
(December 27, 1971)
“‘Yerma’ is the triumph and scandal of the theatrical season here. It was prohibited three times, nearly caused a theater strike, and met with hostility from the older critics, enthusiasm
from the younger ones, and a rapturous reception from the audiences that fill the theater twice an evening.”From Madrid, Lorca’s ‘Yerma’
(October 19, 1972)
“Of all Fedirico García Lorca’s tragedies of blood and honor, it was ‘Yerma,’ that story of fertility and sterility, that parable of life and death, that I have always found
the most difficult to comprehend.”‘The Love of Don Perlimplin’: Lorca’s Play Is Done by Spanish Repertory
(May 9, 1976)
“. . . isn’t usually counted among García Lorca’s major plays; mainly because it is short. But in its brevity it manages the same quicksilver tuns on desire and frustration as ‘Yerma’
and ‘The House of Bernarda Alba.'”‘Bernarda Alba’ Produced in Spanish
(November 23, 1979)
“‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba,’ a harsh and brooding piece that deals with family repression and honor written by Federico García Lorca . . . is being infused with the breath of
life by the Spanish Theater Repertory Company . . .”‘Blood Wedding’: A García Lorca Tragedy of Blood Lust and Death
(May 15, 1992)
“‘Blood Wedding’ surges with passion and earth wisdom, both of which are captured in Melia Bensussen’s vivid production at the Joseph Papp Public Theater.”‘El Publico’: Shocking, Amusing or Both?
(May 21, 1998)
“For sustained emotional and intellectual excitement in the theater this spring it would be hard to find an equal to Repertorio Espanol’s production of ‘El Publico,’ by Federico García
Lorca. . . . This is the most wildly inventive play García Lorca wrote.”Dudley Fitts Reviews ‘Federico García Lorca’, by Roy Campbell
(December 21, 1952)
“[Campbell] manages in his fine rage to say things that should not have been said — naughty-boy things . . . Yet when he turns his attention to the particulars of Lorca’s work, the windiness
subsides: a sensitive appreciation, often approaching the stature of true criticism, results.”German Opera on Spanish Theme
(June 30, 1957)
“Lorca’s play [‘Blood Wedding]’, one of the masterpieces of the modern stage, is a remarkable combination of dramatic and lyrical elements . . . [To Wolfgang] Fortner’s credit
it must be said that he took advantage of the possibilities and avoided the pitfalls presented by the text.”García Lorca’s Plays Are Being Revived in Spain
(September 9, 1962)
Despite García Lorca’s assassination by Fascist forces, the Franco government never officially banned his plays. In 1960, after a 24-year absence, García Lorca’s began to be produced
again on Spanish stages.Poet Slain by Francoists Stirs New Dispute in Spain
(June 4, 1976)
A year after the death of Franco, a political sociologist at the University of Granada urged that García Lorca’s native region pay homage to him in the 40th year of his “assassination”
— a word unthinkable in this context while Franco was alive.Opera: World Premiere of ‘Love of Don Perlimplin’
(August 4, 1984)
Conrad Susa’s opera was based on the play of the same name by García Lorca.The Granada of Federico García Lorca, by Leslie Stainton
(May 4, 1986)
Granada, Lorca’s hometown hosted to a range of events to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.Lewis Hyde Reviews ‘In the Green Morning: Memories of Federico’, by Francisco García Lorca
(July 27, 1986)
“Much of the flavor of the world that nurtured Federico García Lorca and his work is preserved in this memoir. And yet something has been lost . . . [The memoirs] tell as much by their omissions
as by their declarations.”Helen Benedict Reviews ‘Lorca: The Drawings — Their Relation to the Poet’s Life and Work’, by Helen Oppenheimer
(March 15, 1987)
“Through a concise and lively biography, the author . . . points out convincingly that the quirky, somewhat surrealistic drawings were not the mere doodles of a talented man, but an outlet for
many of the themes that went into his writings . . .”Lorca’s Dark Play For His Dark Times
(July 5, 1989)
A play that García Lorca intended to call “The Dream of Life,” left unfinished at his death, was performed in its fragmentary state in Madrid.Allen Josephs Reviews ‘Federico García Lorca’, by Ian Gibson
(October 8, 1989)
“Gibson has captured the chiaroscuro of Lorca’s life as no one before him has done. . . . a distinguished biography that never falters on the tightrope between readability and credibility.”‘The Disappearance of García Lorca’: Tracking Down the Killers of a Poet
(September 12, 1997)
“Heaven knows, the movie, directed by Marcos Zurinaga, is well-meaning and on the side of good literature and freedom of speech . . . Once it has dispensed with high-toned literary frills,
the movie turns into a stiff overly schematic cat-and-mouse game . . .”Literary Pilgrimages, by Ian Gibson
(May 10, 1998)
García Lorca’s biographer describes spots of interest for the literary pilgrim visiting García Lorca’s native Grandada.Soccer’s Din Threatens Poet’s Rest in Spain
(October 18, 1998)
García Lorca’s only surviving sibling, Isabel García Lorca, 87, oppposed the building of a soccer field planned for a hillside near Federico García Lorca Park, which commemorates
his unmarked tomb.Previous Author Features From The New York Times on the Web
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