A Survey of Central American Literature: Writing from the Heart of the Americas

Abstract

ESSAY A Survey of Central American Literature Writing fromtheHeart of theAmericas JoseJuanColin Central American literature has slowly gained in status in order to reach its cur rentplace inLatin American literary his tory. Despite this rise in recognition,many of the writers remain little known outside theircountries of origin, a situation thatpoints to the need for stronger academic work in the literaturesof this so-called cintura de America (waist of America). Generally speaking, economic factors have con tributed to the low evaluation and recog nition of Central American letters. The lack of economic develop- ^^^^H ment throughout the region, the ^^^^^^H lowper capitaincome of the ^^^^^^^^k people,the highcosts ofbook ^^^^^^^^H production, a ^^^^^^^^^M political situation?all are ^^^^^^^^^H negativefactors that hinder ^^^^^^^^^H the production of Central American literary texts and theiradequate distribution -^^^^^^^H and promotion. Consequently, \^^^^^^| few publishing houses exist in ^^^^^ Central America, and the editions that do come out tend to have small press runs. In addition, writers in Central America often desert theirvocation as writers and devote themselves tomore practical pursuits. Those who stickwith itmust frequentlypublish, distribute, promote, and sell their works themselves. Many of these writers have received a formal educa tion and teach at local universities. In addition to teaching in two ormore colleges, theydevote time and attention to theirliterary works. Other Central American writers, some very renowned, work in foreign universities. Some have lived in exile, either forced or voluntary, for years. Today theworld ofCentral American litera ture is known by only a handful of names, such as Ruben Dario; Miguel ?ngel Asturias, winner of theNobel Prize in literature in 1967; Sergio Ramirez; Dante Liano; Ernesto Cardenal; Augusto Monterroso; and Claribel Alegria, thenineteenth recipient of World Literature Today's Neustadt International Prize forLiterature (seeWLT, May 2007, 27-49). The purpose of this essay is to look briefly at past events in the region, begin ning in the early nineteenth century, and to consider their relationship to the Central American liter ary tradition. Of course, the countries of Central America didn't achieve their indepen dence until the nineteenth century. During the early centuries, Latin American lit erature, and especially works from Central America, contin ued literary currents and traditions fromSpain. This literatureconformed to works writtenmainly by Spanish intellectuals and criollos,rarelyby Americans. During this time,an American view of the universe remained unwrit ten. The conquest cast a long shadow over the region's literary production. Today the consensus among critics is that Central American literature proper begins with Ruben Dario (1867-1916), with subsequent high lights to be found in thework ofMiguel ?ngel Asturias, Ernesto Cardenal, Claribel Alegria, and Augusto Monterroso. Better-informed anthologies incorporate a bit more of Alegria, Monterroso, and 34 i World Literature Today 3 even include Sergio Ramirez. Generally, however, they tellus littleor nothing about currentCentral American writers and their work. For instance, studentswho study the region are able to cite the history of civilwars or natural disasters thathave plagued theCentral American region but remain largely unaware of an author like Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli?who, in 2008, won the Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Award, presented at the Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, the largestbook fair in theSpanish-speaking world? and almost certainly these students do not know that many of her novels have been translated into numerous languages. But this shouldn't surprise us, since great novelistic traditions have been absent from the isthmus since the end of theViceroyalty ofGua temala in 1821, when Spanish America frag mented into independent republics (with the exception of Cuba and Panama, which became independent in 1898 and 1902, respectively). Post-independence literature was controlledmainly by thosewho held the power: theCatholic Church, the gov ernment (in its many expressions), and the landowners. Consequently, there was no place for literature in an environment where theconflictsof interest dividing different sectors controlled the development of the various countries, particu larly of theCentral American region. In addition, the economic interests of the United States in constructing a canal to divide the continent into two parts and facilitate trade encouraged James Monroe to insti tutehis "America for theAmericans" policy. The Monroe Doctrine (1823) represented a kind of economic and military invasion of Latin America. Under...