Gamoneda

 I guess it is significant that in the same book in which I published my first article (1992) about Spanish poetry of the 1980s, I also published the first book chapter or article in English about Gamoneda. There was article the same year as my book, The Poetics of Self-Consiousness (1994) in Hispanic Review by Antonio Candau, written in Spanish. (Candau works mainly on novel and film. I don't know which was first, but we can call it simultaneous since it was the same year.) In order to orient you, I should mention that my PhD was from 1988, so we are talking about early career JM. 

Anyway, I had just randomly purchased Gamoneda's Edad on one of my book buying sprees in Spain. It was in the black Cátedra edition that we all know, scholarly editions of classics, and it had won the premio nacional de poesía. I had never heard of Gamoneda, but something told me that he was important, so I purchased the book. When I was putting together the Poetics of Self-Consciousness book, I thought that I should include a chapter on Gamoneda. 

After I wrote the second HR article, I began to get invited to Spain, and met some of the contemporary poets that were on the same side of the poetry war as I was. I was the one yanqui on many panels.