Neomysticism in postsecular hispanic poetry. Contextualization and methodological proposal

Abstract

In recent decades, the concept of secularization has been revised in the West. In a context of “reenchantment” of the world in which religiosity has changed (hybridity, individualism, spirituality on paper), there is a need to embrace by theories of postsecularity. Artistic expressions, including literature, have contributed to this blending and new spiritual experience. This paper not only establishes the theoretical framework for analyzing the new mystical poetry but also argues for the use of two tools enabling a socio-aesthetic approach to the phenomenon. First, it advocates for the use of the terms 'neomystic' or 'neomysticism' for postsecular aesthetics. In the second place, it emphasizes the need for a method to classify neomystic poets. In this regard, four parameters are presented: the poet's belief and confession state, the religious substrate and literary sources of their creation, constructive procedures of the poem, levels of transcendent experience for both author and receiver, leading to tentative taxonomic classifications. These parameters are investigated across numerous poets (Cadenas, Cardenal, Cross, Eielson, Janés, Gervitz, Maillard, Mujica, Negroni, Paz, Valente, Scala, etc.) from various Spanish-speaking countries. This article aims to reconsider the paradigm of studies on poetic neomysticism and establish a methodology that should be applied to new literary works. Therefore, it seeks feedback from the academic community to confirm, refine, or reformulate its proposal.