Cuban literature
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (April 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (April 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century. The major works published in Cuba during that time were of an abolitionist character. Notable writers of this genre include Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda and Cirilo Villaverde. Following the abolition of slavery in 1886, the focus of Cuban literature shifted. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the modernista movement in Latin American literature. Writers such as the poet Nicolás Guillén focused on literature as social protest. Others like Dulce María Loynaz, José Lezama Lima and Alejo Carpentier dealt with more personal or universal issues. And a few more, such as Reinaldo Arenas and Guillermo Cabrera Infante, earned international recognition in the postrevolutionary era.
Most recently, there has been a so-called Cuban "boom" among authors who were born during the 50s and 60s. Many writers of this younger generation have felt compelled to continue their work in exile due to perceived censorship by the Cuban authorities. Many of them fled abroad during the 1990s. Some well-known names include Daína Chaviano (USA), Zoé Valdés (France), Eliseo Alberto (Mexico), Pedro Juan Gutiérrez (Cuba), Leonardo Padura (Cuba), Antonio Rodríguez Salvador (Cuba) and Abilio Estévez (Spain).
Cuban literature is one of the most prolific, relevant, and influential literatures in Latin America and in all of the Spanish-speaking world, with renowned writers like José Martí, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José María Heredia, Nicolás Guillén (the National Poet of Cuba), José Lezama Lima, Alejo Carpentier (nominee for the Nobel Prize for Literature and previously the Premio Cervantes winner in 1977), Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Premio Cervantes 1997), Virgilio Piñera y Dulce María Loynaz (Premio Cervantes 1992), among many others.
Afrocubanismo (An Artistic Movement Involving Cuban literature)
During the 1920s and 1930s Cuba experienced a movement geared towards Afro-Cuban culture called Afrocubanismo.[1] The beauty of Afrocubanismo in literature is that is captures something indispensably Cuban. It incorporates the islanders’ African roots while mixing it with their own creativity to produce something that is truly magical. They have all grown up with rhythm as a daily part of their life, so the incorporation of rhythm into literature was a rather smooth transition.
The idea of introducing rhythm into literature was brought about by several Cuban composers who were also writers. Alejandro García Caturla, Amadeo Roldán, and Gilberto Valdés were all interested in supporting black culture as well as adding musical elements to written word.[2] Using onomatopoeia, the goal of rhythmic literature is to get the reader to experience the reading like a dance without using actual instruments.
Literary Afrocubanismo can fall into a variety of musical genres such as: Danzon, Rumba, Son, Mambo, and Salsa. The clave, a percussion instrument, was the main inspiration for incorporating rhythm within Cuban literature.[3] It sounds very different than Western percussion rhythm and was a way to introduce African rhythm into art. These characteristics of the clave and the importance of dance to the Cuban people became a catalyst for integrating musical patterns into their literature, especially within poetry.
See also
References
Notes
General references
- Arnedo-Gómez, Miguel. “Introduction,” Writing Rumba: The Afrocubanista Movement in Poetry. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. 2006: 1-170.
- “Afrocubanismo,” Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20thCentury. Ed. Lenard S. Klein. 2nd ed. 4thvol. Continuum: Continuum Publishing Company, 1989: 20-21.
- García, Cristina. “Introduction,” Cubanismo! New York: Vintage Books, 2002: 1-364.
- “Literature of the Recolutionary Era,” Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, history, culture. Ed. Luis Martinez Ternandez 1st Vol. Wesport: Greenwood Press, 2003: 345-346.
- Henken, Ted. “Cuban Literature-The Avant-Garde vs the Vanguard: Colonial Literature,” Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook Global Studies :Latin America & The Caribbean. Santa Barabra: ABC_CLIO, 2008: 363-385.
- Moore, Robin D. “The Minorista vanguard: Moderism and Afrocubanismo” Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubansimo and artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940.Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press, 1997: 195-200.
- Ródriguez-Mangual, Edna M. “Introduction” Lydia Cabrera and the Construction of an Afro Cuban Cultural Identity. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004: 1-167.