Longa noite de pedra

Published in 1962, Longa noite de pedra established Celso Emilio Ferreiro as one of the major voices of contemporary Galician poetry. The book emerges from writing committed to social and political reality, using a language intended to be communicative, direct and able to circulate beyond a strictly literary public.

The expression giving the book its title grew from an earlier prison experience of the author and quickly acquired a force beyond the individual poem. The 'long night' came to function as a metaphor for a historical period, especially repression and the moral atmosphere of Francoism.

The work combines protest, solidarity, irony and moments of strong lyric tension. Celso Emilio preferred to speak of poetry of commitment, witness and denunciation rather than accept the narrower label of 'social poetry'. That distinction helps us read the book as both historical response and poetic construction.