The Passion for Exile: A Methodological Critique

This chapter delves into the methods employed by historians to research the literary production of the Republican Spanish exiles during the transition to democracy and beyond. The primary focus is on the GEXEL (Study Group on Literary Exile) and its approach, which is criticised for being overly politicised. The chapter examines both the strengths and limitations of their methodology and aims for a more integrated approach to the study of exile that avoids exclusory division patterns in studying the literary production from territorial and interior exile. Despite the extreme censorship under Franco's regime, writers produced a creative literary legacy that deserves recognition as part of the existing canon of this period. This chapter emphasises the importance of integrating this legacy into the broader understanding of culture during that time and how doing so would help us better understand the construction of a democratic culture in Spain after Franco’s death.