Leopoldo Maria Panero: a walk through the woods of madness

Abstract

This paper has as main objective to present the Spanish poetry of Leopoldo María Panero and his dialogue with a literary tradition of subversion and customs. We also show the relationship of the poet's work with madness and how it is portrayed in his poems. Panero promotes in his writings a rapprochement between life and work, using literature as an instrument of denunciation of the failure of modern institutions, mainly from psychiatric hospitals. The Spanish poet may be considered a victim of the system of social exclusion and confinement deeply studied by Michel Foucault in his History of Madness.