Garra de la guerra (Claw of War)

The poet Gloria Fuertes always wished to compile her anti-war poems in a volume; the title Claw of War was her idea, and has existed for a long time.

For many readers who only know Gloria Fuertes’ poems for “children” and are not familiar with her work for “grown-ups”, this book will surely be a surprise. In fact, the line separating what is written for some and what is written for others is often drawn by the type of publication that include said poems: books for children are full of colourful drawings, while books for grown-ups (prefaced by prestigious poets such as Jaime Gil de Biedma) rarely include illustrations and have a more serious appearance.

For readers who are aware of the three volumes published by Cátedra —from which this book’s texts have been extracted—, the surprise will perhaps be even greater. The collages by Sean Mackaoui, with the visual impact of a publicity poster, accompanied by the wonderfully clear and rounded letters by Gloria Fuertes, express the most vehement anti-war cry.

Claw of War is about the Civil War —the most uncivil—, the atomic bomb (which is still going off), the horror, the famine, men going hungry; and of course, about children, who have always been war’s favourite victims.