Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to focus on the relation between Sahrawi contemporary poetry in Spanish and urban space in the occupied zones of the Western Sahara by examining critically a selection of poems by the group of poets of the Sahrawi Generation of Friendship.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will focus on the relation between Sahrawi contemporary poetry in Spanish and urban space in the occupied zones of the Western Sahara.

The author will reflect on how the Sahrawi people strive to regain possession of the urban space illegally occupied by Morocco since 6 November 1975, when the Green March began. Specifically, the paper will concentrate on the intifada in 2005 and the establishment of the Gdeim Izik protest camp in 2010.

Along with this consideration on the "spacial" claims of the Sahrawi people, the author will analyze the role Sahrawi poets play within this context of the Sahrawi people's struggle for self-determination, by examining critically a selection of poems from the anthologies "Aaiún: gritando lo que se siente" (2006) and "La primavera saharaui: escritores saharauis con Gdeim Izik" (2012) by the group of poets of the Sahrawi Generation of Friendship, who adopt the Spanish language as a symbol of resistance against the invasion by the Moroccans, aiming to "reterritorialize" the persecuted culture.

Their aesthetics of resistance as found in their lyrics function as a clear discursive strategy in support of Sahrawi political rhetoric: in his lyrics, politically and poetically committed, the Sahrawi poet takes the invaded space back both textually and culturally. Consequently, the poetic word is thought as a potentially loaded weapon.