Writing with a literary style for the radio, might seem absurd for many people; however, it is not like that. The radio, as a means of expression, involves the use of literature. So, defining the concept of literature is required.

Among all possible definitions, the one that is most comfortable is as follows: a genre to produce human understanding, aimed at expressing the beautiful by way of words. We should pause to analyze the meaning of this phrase: to express the beautiful by way of words.

People strongly believe that when we use language in a harmonious, elegant, way and with all richness the Spanish language entails, we are expressing ourselves in a beautiful form and that’s equivalent to say that we are expressing ourselves in a literary form. This is just the way to conceive literature.

The Spanish language make easier the use of literature, due to its expressive richness, shades of meaning, the large number of synonyms, and because it is also considered a romance language.

Many people might think that a university degree as an intellectual, to be a writer, a poet or at least be an amateur in artistic expressions is required to use literature on the radio.

Far from this hypothesis, the radio requires simplicity when using literature. The use of convoluted turns of phrases as well as an over-elaborate and some times abstract language, leads to nothing; besides it would be a kind of literature unacceptable to be used on the radio.

The radio, as a transmitter, does not watch us, does not stop broadcasting when someone knocks on our door, the phone bell rings or we are distracted by someone or something. If we do not take this into account and do not write for the radio with a beautiful and literary style, we run the risk that the message does not reach the audience.

Writing with a literary style for radio, has among other goals that of achieving the listeners understanding of the message, and they are pleased while listening to it on the radio.

Some people think that using literary language on the radio, its is like writing in the style of Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, Alejo Carpentier or Lezama Lima , just to mention some of the great writers, but it is all the contrary. It is adapting literature to the language of radio.

If we could include a paragraph of "El Quijote” (Don Quixote) or "El siglo de las luces” (The Age of Enlightenment) in some radio script, that does not mean that radio has a literary style, since it is not the same thing to read literature as to listen to it.

In the case of the readers, they have the chance of looking carefully for the meaning of each word and interpret the reading, at the rhythm they want to, as well as to go back in the reading if required. But there is no such advantage for the listeners. When they do not understand some piece of information, there is no way to repeat it on the radio; they cannot look up in a dictionary the meaning of some word while listening if they do not know it.

This is the main reason why literature on the radio is quite different from written literature. That is, it should be more accessible, easy to understand, not complicated and comprehensible for all listeners. It should sound like music inside our ears, and gets through to us in a slow and gentle way, so that listening to the radio message is a pleasure.

Literature on the radio can be used in all genres of journalism. Certainly, chronicles are the most appropriate, and then the comments. The use of literature in these genres has a powerful strength, since they do not have any elements of support compared to other genres, like the interview, which includes the interviewer’s testimony or the story, which includes sound effects, music and the witnesses’ speech.

In the case of the chronicle and the comment, the radio announcers talk to listeners, although it is a monologue as such. The key is to get the listeners involved in our message, even though we cannot hear them, and this is the right moment to mention the greatest of all radio announcers Cuba has had, named Salvador García Agüero, who used literature on the radio, and maintained the listeners talked with him.

Many people used to listen to Salvador Garcia on the loudspeakers in the parks on Sundays mornings. Through his slow and well-pitched voice, pronouncing words correctly, respecting every dot and comma, and using beautiful language, the announcer was able to reach the audience with his messages; and when he spoke on the radio, many listeners reasserted, or rejecting what he had said like taking part of his message. So, the monologue would turn into a dialogue, and that was possible to achieve by using literary language at radio.

Certainly, there is no doubt that not everyone can write or speak the way Garcia Aguero did, although those who write for radio should try to use literary language, more pleasant and clear.

The easiest way to use language on radio is not always the most appropriate. The use of ordinary, lack of content, well-worn phrases on the radio can spoil any comments or information.

We often listen to expressions used to paraphrase or not to smudge sheets of paper.

This shows a poverty of language, or even worse unnecessary lack of knowledge since we have a rich language, full of expressions and synonyms, but unfortunately, some people who write for the radio think that the use of beautiful words and idiomatic turns is translated into ridiculousness, banality, and that is something very distant from the reality. Literature is a beautiful language that everyone likes.

Can you picture writers such as José Martí, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Azorín writing for the radio? Certainly, every listener would listen to them and nobody would turn off the radio, as often happens now due to the use of banal, archaic, empty expressions.

The use of literary language on the radio implies more effort, careful writing, and the use of a dictionary of synonyms at the right time, and something indispensable: the proper study of our rich Spanish language.

Finally I would like to refer something that is also necessary: it is very important to read, to read a lot of mainly the great Spanish writers, from whose works something always pervades, and in this way, we could pass on the good use of language to the youngsters.

A translation by: Silke Paez Carr

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