Spanish Valencian poet who formed a group with fellow poets Miguel Hernández and Ramón Sijé, among others.
The son of a baker, he also worked in this occupation throughout his life. The third of twelve siblings, the premature death of the first two left him as the first-born, so that at the age of 12 he had to leave school to attend to the family’s financial needs.
Nevertheless, the young Fenoll read the great contemporary and universal poets, and began to publish his own compositions in local publications, such as El Pueblo de Orihuela or Renacer. This activity put him in contact with other poets in the area: Ramón Sijé, Miguel Hernández, Jesús Poveda… Fenoll oven hosted those gatherings and literary meetings. There they launched literary magazines such as Destellos (1930) or Silbo (1936).
In November 1936, Fenoll enlisted as a volunteer in a militia battalion and went to Madrid, where he worked as a baker for the republican troops. During the Civil War and the post-war period, however, Oriola’s group split, some died (Miguel Hernández, Ramón Sijé, Gabriel Sijé), and others went into exile (Jesús Poveda, Manuel Molina). In 1947 Carlos Fenoll himself emigrated to Barcelona with his family.
In Catalonia, he practically abandoned poetry, partly due to the depression caused by the hardships suffered in the war and the memory of lost friendships. Carlos Fenoll died in Barcelona on 31 December 1972 at age 60.
Carlos Fenoll’s poetry evolved throughout his life. Self-taught, his first verses were about landscapes, customs and the figure of women. From 1936, with Silbo, he turned to a more mature and critical approach. His later compositions maintained styles and themes, but with a progressive negativism in form, especially after the death of Miguel Hernández, where his lyrics become sadder and more transcendental.
His work is scattered in numerous publications from Oriola, Alicante or Elche. He did not publish any books during his life. In 1978, the Institute of Alicante Studies published the anthology Canto encadenado.
https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Fenoll_Felices