Carmen Conde
Carmen Conde was a notable Spanish poet, writer, and women's rights advocate, whose literary career spanned several periods shaped by her personal experiences and the socio-political climate of her time. Born in Morocco, her early love for nature influenced her first poetry collection, "Brocal." After marrying poet Antonio Oliver Belmas in 1931, Conde entered a phase of experimentation with Surrealism and co-founded the Public University of Cartagena. The Spanish Civil War marked a turning point in her life, prompting her and her husband to publish under pseudonyms while they remained in Spain, unlike many artists who chose exile. During the 1930s and 1940s, Conde produced a significant volume of work, including children's biographies and poetry that reflected her antiwar sentiments and emerging feminist perspectives. Her 1947 collection, "Mujer sin Edén," is a notable feminist reinterpretation of the biblical Fall. In her later years, particularly after Belmas's death in 1968, Conde shifted her focus toward existential themes while continuing to write prolifically until the 1980s. Her influence endures, especially among female writers in Spain, and she is commemorated through her statue in Cartagena, marking her substantial contributions to literature and women's rights.
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Subject Terms
Carmen Conde
Poet
- Born: August 15, 1901
- Birthplace: Cartagena, Spain
- Died: 1996
- Place of death: Madrid, Spain
Biography
Carmen Conde divided her own work into periods. The first of these grew out of her childhood in Morocco, where she was enamored of nature and of the sea in particular. These interests are reflected in her first collection of poetry, Brocal. Conde’s marriage to the poet Antonio Oliver Belmas in 1931 marked the advent of her second period, a time during which she experimented with Surrealism and, together with her husband, opened the Public University of Cartagena. Five years later, Conde’s world—like that of most of her fellow Spaniards—was torn asunder by the Spanish Civil War. During the third period of her career, Conde and her husband, unlike many of their fellow artists, chose to stay in Spain, but they were obliged to publish under pseudonyms. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Conde was extraordinarily prolific, and she penned biographies for children and captured her husband’s experiences as a soldier on paper. She also produced a great deal of poetry. Much of the poetry concerned her antiwar feelings, but during this period Conde also began burgeoning as woman’s rights advocate, a trend evident in the 1947 collection, Mujer sin Edén, which is a feminist rewriting of the biblical story of the Fall. In her late period, Conde concentrated her literary efforts on resisting the Fascist government of Francisco Franco, but after Belmas’s death in 1968, her focus shifted from the here and now to explorations of the meaning of life and death. Conde continued to publish both poetry and prose into the 1980’s, and her work remains a powerful influence on female writers in Spain.
