Family, City, Revolution: The Locations of Black Belonging in the Poetry of Jesús Cos Causse

Abstract

ABSTRACT Jesús Cos Causse (1945–2007) was a foundational voice within black Cuban literature of the Revolution. As a journalist, diplomat and cultural activist, he was also instrumental in creating institutions which used poetry as a means of instigating social justice and promoting regional cooperation among Caribbean and Latin American societies. Although Cos Causse was a prolific writer and a pivotal force in Cuba’s artistic industries for decades, his work has not enjoyed much critical reception in English. This is partly because he was based in Santiago de Cuba. This placed him beyond the focus of the enterprises of cultural criticism (national and international) which have tended to be obsessed with Havana and with the cultural prototypes generated in the nation’s capital. This paper offers a reading of Cos Causse’s poetry which pays attention to his exploration of ideas of the black family, of Santiago de Cuba and of the place of black Cubans within the Revolution. It highlights the powerful anti-colonialist stance of Cos Causse’s thinking and shows the vital role that the history of Santiago plays in the development of his radical poetic conscience. I argue that Jesús Cos Causse’s poetry demonstrates the indispensable significance of family, the city of Santiago and the Revolution as coordinates of belonging for black Cubans (renowned or anonymous).