Luis Cernuda - La Realidad y el Deseo - 1936

First edition “La Realidad y el Deseo,” Luis Cernuda, dedicated to Rosa Chacel, 1936 – Spain

Title: “La Realidad y el Deseo”
Author: Luis Cernuda
Genre: Poetry
Language: Castilian (Spanish)
Publication date: 1936
Publisher: Ediciones el Árbol
Place of printing: Madrid
Box dimensions: 17 x 11.5 x 2 cm.
Book dimensions: 16.5 x 11 x 2 cm.

First edition in Spanish of the poetry book “La Realidad y el Deseo,” written by Luis Cernuda and published in 1936 by the publisher Ediciones el Árbol in Madrid. It is a personal gift from the writer to Rosa Chacel, containing the following dedication in the first pages: “To Rosa, at this hour when God visits us. Paris. July. 1938.” It preserves the book’s original binding and case. It is an artisanal print, although it was part of Ediciones del Árbol’s catalog (under the Cruz y Raya magazine imprint); the book was printed in the mythical typography workshops of Manuel Altolaguirre and Concha Méndez.

“La Realidad y el Deseo” was a compendium of six of his early poetry books, written between 1924 and 1935: “Perfil del aire” (which appeared under the title Primeras poesías (1924-1927)), “Égloga, elegía, oda,” “Un río, un amor,” “Los placeres prohibidos,” “Donde habite el olvido” and “Invocaciones a las gracias del mundo.” Later, during his exile, subsequent editions would appear, in which the author adds, in addition, other poems. In the second edition of 1940, produced in Mexico, he completes it with his work “Las nubes,” and in the third edition of 1958, published in the same country, he adds the works “Con las horas contadas” and “Desolación de la quimera.” Around the whole work there are two ideas, two opposing forces, a liberating desire that leads to new, unknown goals, and a coercive, bitter, and ruinous reality.

Luis Cernuda (1902-1963) was one of the best-known Spanish poets belonging to the “Generation of ’27.” He began his law studies at the University of Seville, where he met Pedro Salinas, who at that time was his literature professor, and who would also introduce him to poetry, connecting him with the literary milieu of the moment. Although he had published earlier in magazines, it was in 1927 when he published his first poetry book, Perfil del aire, allowing him to participate in the homage to Góngora that gave this group of writers its name. After that he published, in the following years, other works, such as “Un río, un amor” (1929), “Los placeres prohibidos” (1931) or “Donde habite el olvido” (1934). But it was after the Civil War when he was obliged to go into exile, passing through Paris, England and the United States, finally settling in Mexico in 1952 until his death in 1963.

This is a very special work due to its exclusivity and provenance, as it comes from the inheritance collection of the artist couple Timoteo Pérez Rubio and Rosa Chacel.

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