Antonio Cornejo Polar en su "edad de piedra" : la construcción de un arte de la lectura (1963-1971)

Abstract

This paper examines the early work of Antonio Cornejo Polar and its relationship with the stylistic tradition, and makes some remarks on the Peruvian critic’s readings of Spanish Medieval and Renaissance Literature. On the basis of these elements, we testify to the beginnings of an “Art of Reading” characterized by attention to the problem of lived experience. This art reconstructs social experience refigured in literary texts and aims to develop a “revolutionary reading of tradition” in the sense indicated by José Carlos Mariátegui. We also refer to Cornejo Polar’s thoughts on reading as a liberating practice and present some reflections on the practice of philology in precarious situations, such as that of Latin America.