Spanish Journalist Recovers Women’s Voices From Civil War Era

Journalist Ana Cañil of Madrid is publishing Rescatadas del olvido (Rescued from Oblivion), a book that recovers the writing of foreign women who documented the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath. Cañil began the project after colleagues asked if more women had written about Spain in the 20th century, discovering a wealth of overlooked perspectives.

These women, including Nancy Cunard, Lillian Hellman, and Sylvia Plath, offered a different view of the conflict than their male counterparts, focusing on the everyday lives of those on the home front, women who provided care and sustenance during three years of war. Cañil notes these writers were unafraid of sentiment in their reporting, unlike many male journalists of the time who were discouraged from emotional expression.

Cañil specifically highlights Nancy Cunard's passionate writing about Spain as particularly noteworthy, lamenting that none of these women have received due recognition for their work. The book arrives at a moment when women's rights and social progress are again under threat, with Cañil pointing to the resurgence of neofascist ideologies.