“New Poetry” in Early-Twentieth-Century Northern California: George Sterling’s “Night-Sentries” and “The Last Days”

• García Carreño , Ariadna ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Almería

     Universidad de Almería

     Almería, España

     
• Localización: Nueva Revista del Pacífico, ISSN-e 0719-5176, ISSN 0716-6346, Nº. 84, 2026, págs. 30-60
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • “Nueva poesía” en el norte de California a principios del siglo XX: “Night-Sentries” y “The Last Days” de George Sterling
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Este artículo cuestiona la percepción crítica de la poesía del norte de California a principios del siglo XX como una prolongación del Romanticismo decimonónico. A partir de dos poemas de George Sterling ignorados por la crítica, “Night-Sentries” (1913) y “The Last Days” (1914), el estudio analiza cómo estos textos reflejan una sensibilidad temática moderna acorde con los principios del movimiento de la “nueva poesía” —tal y como los enunció Harriet Monroe— a pesar del uso de elementos formales tradicionales. A través de una lectura atenta y basándome en estudios recientes que reconsideran el predominio de los criterios formalistas en el análisis literario, sostengo que la obra de Sterling se comprometió con las realidades contemporáneas y participó en corrientes nacionales más amplias de renovación poética durante la década de 1910. Así, Sterling reconfiguró la poesía del norte de California como una parte activa e innovadora de la literatura estadounidense de principios del siglo XX.

  • English

    This article aims to challenge the critical perception of early twentieth-century Northern California poetry as a continuation of nineteenth-century Romanticism. Focusing on two overlooked poems by George Sterling, “Night-Sentries” (1913) and “The Last Days” (1914), this study analyzes how these texts reflect a modern thematic sensibility aligned with the principles of the “new poetry” movement —as defined by Harriet Monroe— despite their use of traditional formal elements. Through close reading and drawing on recent scholarship that reconsiders the dominance of formalist criteria in literary analysis, I argue that Sterling’s work engages with contemporary realities and participates in broader national currents of poetic renewal during the 1910s. In doing so, it repositions Northern California poetry as an active and innovative part of early twentieth-century American literature.

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