Illustrations for the book, published by Kalandraka.
How to create images for the poetry of Miguel Hernández?
The life, the poetry of Miguel Hernández is that of one who makes beauty sprout amidst adversity. Due to his humble condition and his father’s lack of understanding, due to the ever-looming threat of illness, due to war and imprisonment. Despite all this, the poet is capable of creating a body of work of enormous authenticity, depth, and beauty. One image kept recurring to my mind: the man alone, facing nature. The smell of damp earth, the light of dusk, the infinite horizon, and in the landscape, a silhouette—that of Miguel Hernández, “the shepherd poet.”
To accompany his poetry, I have created images that reflect that inner world; that transform words into visual metaphors running parallel to the poems and that reflect the light and colors of the Levante region, the smell of fields and dust from the paths, the author’s thoughts. I wanted images that reflected the beauty of nature, but also the pain and suffering of man, of solitude and war.
Pep Carrió