On Christmas Eve, it arrives in bookstores. Towards the homeland of eternal Love, a unique work by Luis Fernández Conde (Madrid, 1944), designed for those who wish to contemplate the Christian mystery through the beauty of words. A philosopher and journalist by training, Fernández Conde offers a journey through eight centuries of religious poetry in the Spanish language, from the earliest medieval texts to contemporary voices.
The work contains poems about the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ. “It is a journey that is both aesthetic and theological.”,“ explains the author. A combination that, he emphasizes, allows the anthology to be read "even slowly, contemplatively”, as if advancing through a living story: that of salvation.
A golden rule: the “three Ps”
When asked about the criteria for selecting the poems, Fernández Conde summarizes his method in a simple mnemonic rule. “He chose a poetic text when it met the following three conditions: it had to be pious, popular, and poetic.”This threefold requirement—Christian content, accessible clarity, and literary quality—gives the anthology a unique character.
"I wanted people to be able to enjoy the great beauty they contain, while at the same time gaining a greater understanding of the Christian faith through the resources of poetry.", he adds.
Meticulous research work
The book's genesis has been long and meticulous. Much of the research was carried out at the National Library: “I handled the originals, which allowed me to find unpublished texts and compare others published in later versions, enabling me to correct typos, errors, and sticky alterations.".
In addition to ancient manuscripts, this volume includes reliable critical editions of major 20th-century collections, making it a rigorous reference tool.
What inspires poets so much when they talk about the birth of Christ? For Fernández Conde, the answer is clear: “The same feelings—tenderness, pain, joy, poverty—that occur to the Holy Family and are at once fully human and fully divine.”All of this has a common denominator: “Love with a capital L”. Hence, so many verses employ the double meaning of human love “poured out to the divine".
A tradition that lives on
According to its author, the anthology demonstrates the cultural and catechetical power of religious poetry. “Poetry with religious content has always been present in the history of the Church as a form of liturgical and doctrinal expression.”, he recalls. Christmas carols, religious plays, popular compositions... A memory passed down from generation to generation.
"Popular Christian poetry is still alive”,“ he states. "Think of Christmas carols at Christmas or saetas at Holy Week.”. And he adds a significant detail: the Hispanic world probably preserves “the world's most important collection of popular Christian poetry".
Careful editorial design
The edition also stands out for its attention to detail: a size of large print, notes, and introductions On the same page, visually clear blocks of verses, repetitions indicated in bold.“All of this achieves a unified visual representation of the poetic text, showcasing the musicality inherent in every poem.” explains the author.
In addition, the volume includes an index system designed to facilitate consultation by students, teachers, philologists, or curious readers.
Who would you recommend it to?“For those who want to enjoy contemplative and culturally enriching reading”. And also to those who study the Spanish language, as this anthology helps to understand the cultural background of many expressions in Spanish.
Surprises among manuscripts
In his compilation work, Fernández Conde has discovered little-known gems. “The work went from surprise to surprise.”, he admits. Among them, a delicate anonymous seguidilla included in a volume from 1662, whose simple emotion captivated him from the first reading:
Come, come to the valley,
divine shepherd boy,
may the breeze invite you
of my sighs...
Oh, my child!
How, being beautiful, Sun,
Are you shivering with cold?
Towards the homeland of eternal Love
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