The voice of the cypresses: Cyrus Cassells and the poetry of Salvador Espriu

Abstract

ABSTRACT"To the cypress again and again" is Cyrus Cassells's poetic response to the work of Salvador Espriu, a poet whose reception has been limited by his belonging to a minority culture and his commitment to the Catalan language. In its first eight sections, the poem reads as a dramatic monologue: its author adopts Espriu's voice, successfully evoking his poetic world. In what could be considered the second part of the poem, a different poetic speaker  identifiable with Cassells  shares personal memories of Espriu: the man, his nation and his culture. At the end of the poem, the emblematic cypresses are identified with the Catalan people and their voice is heard. The poem is an example of epistolary elegy, a mode that allows Cassells to enter into dialogue with deceased personalities who have had artistic or historical relevance. In so doing, the American poet shows, like Espriu did, an acute sense of cultural tradition.Keywords: "To the cypress again and again", Cyrus Cassells, Salvador Espriu, epistolary elegy, poetic voice, imageryIn its website, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages defines regional or minority language as one "traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population". As the president of the Association Internationale pour la Défense des Langues et Cultures Menacées, during the early 70s, the Catalan poet Salvador Espriu fought for the survival of minority languages spoken all over the world. In an interview, he connected this responsibility with the history of his own language:Jo vaig reaccionar des del primer dia contra la intolerable arbitrarietat que suposa perseguir una llengua; va donar la casualitat que fos la meva, la catalana, però crec que hauria reaccionat de la mateixa manera contra la persecució de qualsevol altra llengua. ... [L]a meva reacció no va ser sentimental, sinó que va ser intel·lectual i ètica. (Reina 1995b: 94) As a writer, Espriu produced a body of literature that can be considered  among other things  a vindication of his own language, persecuted and belittled during Franco's