Poetics of the phantasmal act, between perplexity and commitment: Xela Arias at the Festival da Poesía no Condado

Abstract

This article analyses the participation of the poet Xela Arias in the Festival da Poesía no Condado organized by the Sociedade Cultural e Desportiva do Condado de Salvaterra de Miño since 1981, in which the poet collaborated regularly during the 1980s. Using the conceptual framework of a spectral act (Rubín 2013) we can contextualise this poetry as oriented towards action and dissemination in a public space, solidifying a literature of resistance. Additionally, in the construction of a national identity in which the defence and appreciation of the Galician language and culture are of particular importance, after a history of silence and repression, we will add the gender perspective. This perspective allows for reflection on the subordinate position of women's writing, in this case, within a marginalized literature, and the various strategies of visibility and self-awareness as a female writer.