Josep Carner’s Absència: nihilism and hope

A close reading of the section entitled Absència in Carner’s collection Poesia (1957), in particular of the three most closely related poems in it, «Si cal que encara et vegi...», «Cor fidel» and «Lleialtat». As well as the poet’s fidelity to the homeland and its language, the article dwells on the underlying ontological nihilism, which it relates to the idea of poetry that emerges from his «Creació del poema». The nostalgic tone of the whole and its diversity are also variously commented upon.