SHAPE proposes a groundbreaking cultural approach to the study of 21st-century Spanish American documentary poetry, examining its role as a form of social and community resistance in shaping a collective memory of extreme violence in Latin America. This unique poetic genre integrates a wide range of external sources—ethnographic records, historical archives, chronicles, visual and audiovisual materials, and virtual documents—none of which have been created by the poet. The incorporation of these external texts into poetry, a traditionally intimate and non-mimetic form, generates a stylistic short circuit that has manifested in diverse ways across Latin America. In this context, documentary poetry has emerged as a powerful means of articulating the tragic consequences of systemic, institutional, and non-institutional violence against marginalized communities, including women, migrants, Indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Despite its crucial social function and increasing prominence in Latin American literature, no comprehensive study has yet examined this genre in depth. SHAPE aims to fill this critical gap by developing a model of interpretation that situates documentary poetry not only as an aesthetic expression but also as a fundamental tool for preserving and constructing social memory around suffering and resistance.
To achieve this, SHAPE adopts an interdisciplinary methodological framework that bridges literature, cultural studies, cultural history, and ethnography. This approach will allow for an in-depth investigation of how documentary poetry contributes to acts of resistance against extreme violence while fostering new cross-cultural reflections on institutional and social oppression in Latin America. Additionally, SHAPE seeks to explore literature’s potential as a means of countering racial and social discrimination. The project is being developed in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, strengthening its international and cross-disciplinary scope.
SHAPE is the first comprehensive study to examine Spanish American documentary poetry about extreme violence from a cultural perspective. Its overarching goal is to assess the capacity of this poetry to construct and sustain social memory while functioning as an act of political and social resistance. To achieve this, the project investigates the following key objectives:
a) The Ontological Status of Documentary Poetry as a form of Engaged Art
SHAPE explores documentary poetry’s dual role as an artistic form and a political instrument, examining its ability to engage with pressing social realities. The project critically analyzes the relationship between documentary and poetry, focusing on how the inclusion of factual elements shapes the artistic dimension of the genre. Central to this inquiry is an exploration of intertextual appropriation and de-appropriation—how documentary poetry navigates the ethical complexities of speaking for and with marginalized voices.
b) The Role of Documentary Poetry in Constructing Social Memory and Identity
SHAPE investigates how documentary poetry has developed in Spanish America as a means of building a shared cultural memory of violence and shaping the identities of vulnerable communities. From a Cultural History perspective, the project examines the intersections of violence, the body, language, and representation, identifying how documentary poetry not only gives voice to the silenced but also reinforces the urgency of collective remembrance. Beyond academic discourse, this poetry has influenced social activism, inspiring public initiatives such as writing workshops that engage communities in shared acts of social storytelling. SHAPE will incorporate an ethnographic perspective to analyze these participatory literary practices and their role in fostering solidarity and historical consciousness.
c) The Stylistic and Structural Characteristics of Contemporary Spanish American Documentary Works
To construct a systematic model of interpretation, SHAPE examines a corpus of ten contemporary Spanish American documentary works that address forms of extreme violence. The project will analyze how poets employ key literary strategies such as intertextuality, intermediality. By integrating textual and socio-political analysis, SHAPE seeks to demonstrate how documentary poetry transcends conventional literary boundaries, emerging as an active form of political intervention.
By combining literary analysis with interdisciplinary insights, SHAPE aims to establish a new theoretical framework for understanding the intersection of poetry, documentary material, and social activism in Latin America as a priviledge way to promote a broader discussions on memory, resistance, and the role of art in confronting historical trauma.
