Spanish American Literature Research Articles

Aspects of Spanish-American Literature

Aspects of Spanish-American Literature

Nationalism and Social Discontent as Reflected in Spanish-American Literature

Between 1800 and 1830, the nationalistic spirit reflected in Spanish-American literature was continental in scope rather than centered about individual states. Between the middle 1830's and the 1870's and 80's, nationalism in lit erature became increasingly local, reflecting the concept of the nation-state and the political views of the rising bourgeoisie. Between the 1880's and the turn of the century, Spanish- American writers became as cosmopolitan in their writing as their more positivistic compatriots were in business affairs ruled by international capitalism. In the first years of the twentieth century, the writers, feeling that the United States, after the Spanish-American War and the interventions in Cuba and Panama, was a danger to the political and cultural independ ence of Latin America, fought back by re-emphasizing in their writings their Hispanic, Latin, and Indian traditions. By the 1920's and 30's, and up to the present day, with the emergence of hitherto submerged strata of Latin America's population, and reflecting the tenets of the Mexican Revolution and of other American and world revolutionary doctrines, many Span ish-American writers coupled continental patriotism with racial, political, social, and economic protest directed against their own ruling classes and against foreign capitalism. Discontent with their continent's present conditions has also led another group of writers into a search for national self-definition which, if successful, will, in their opinion, resolve today's frustrations and deficiencies

Why Cubans Resent the U.S.

The following article on the sources of Cuban resentment against the United States is by a man with unique qualifications to understand the views and feelings of our southern neighbors. Manuel Pedro Gonzalez was born in the Canary Islands and educated in Cuba, receiving a Doctorate of Philosophy and Letters from the University of Havana in 1922. From 1924 until his recent retirement, he was Professor of Spanish-American Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. Recently he has spent several months in Havana, and this article reflects not only his deep knowledge of Cuban history (he is the leading authority on the life and writings of Jose Marti) but also his first hand observations of conditions in Cuba under the revolutionary regime. To avoid misunderstanding, we add that we are not in complete agreement with everything Professor Gonzalez says. In particular we do not agree that the Cuban Revolution is a bourgeois revolution of the New Deal type. Our own interpretation will be elaborated in the special July-August issue devoted entirely to Cuba. —The Editors.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction

Spanish American literature has been studied mostly through the thematic or biographical approach. The thematic approach has dwelt on geographical settings, classifying the works of fiction as novels of the pampa, novels of the sierra, and novels of the selva. The biographical approach, on the other hand, has surveyed the literary production chronologically-novel of the Colonial period, of the Period of Independence, of the Mexican Revolution, etc.-supplementing historical considerations with biographical notes on the writers of each of the periods. However interesting these approaches may be in relating literature to ecological patterns or to history, they have contributed but little to literary criticism. They have not been very helpful, for instance, in evaluating the intrinsically aesthetic merits of a work and have paid little or no attention to the complex problems of form, composition, and stylistic trends. Such classificatory terms as Realistic, Naturalistic, Existentialist do circulate in their writings but in rather superficial, desultory, or indiscriminating ways. We are told, for instance, that Echeverria was a poet, disregarding completely his Matadero, a precursory masterpiece of Naturalism; or that Dofia Bdrbara and La vordgine were robust specimens of Realism, overlooking their romantic tirades and psychological distortions. Hence the frequency with which one meets in university theses such titles as Romantic, Realistic and Naturalistic Elements in the Novels of R6mulo Gallegos and Jos6 Eustasio Rivera and El romanticismo esencial del realista Jos6 Rivera. Had the line of analysis followed a more rigorous examination into the emotional and stylistic peculiarities, it could have been ascertained that, at least in Latin American prose fiction, it is difficult if not impossible to categorize faithfully each movement. Even in those works which are taken as typical of certain schools or movements, classification fails. Jorge Isaacs' Maria cannot be dismissed as a Romantic novel pure and simple: the novel ends, as a matter of fact, with such detailed, concretely realistic pictures as the Salom6 episode and the homeward travelogue. In these penultimate and final sections there is almost as much realism as there is romanticism. The romantic and realistic persist side by side too in Giiiraldes, in Lynch, in Payr6, in Quiroga. Perhaps during one rather fleeting moment, with no significant consequences, one influence, in this case Zola's, seemed preponderant: Antonio Argerich's Inocentes o culpables (1884), Lucio V. L6pez' La gran aldea (1884), Eugenio Cambaceres' Sin rumbo (1885), JuliAn Martel's La Bolsa (1890). But even here one need only read carefully Sin rumbo, for instance, to observe that the author is leaning on the theories of Naturalism, its Achilles' heel, rather than imitating Zola's epic art. Cambaceres' Zolaism is surface veneer. His style moves towards a somewhat lyrical staccato-precursory, one may say, of Vargas Vila's.' Another man whose name has been associated with Zola's is Baldomero Lillo. Obviously there is some similarity due to the thematic affinity between Sub terra and Germinal, both dealing with the plight of the coal A paper read at the Spanish 4 Group Meeting of the 69th Annual Meeting of the MLA, New York, December 27-29, 1954.

San Manuel Bueno, Martir: A Possible Source in Spanish American Literature

Unamuno's short novel, San Manuel Bueno, mdrtir, was published on March 13, 1931, in La novela de hoy, but the date of its composition is not known. Unamuno's religious struggle began while he was studying in Bilbao and according to GonzAlez Caminero parece que ya en el segundo curso de sus estudios universitarios (1881) era un increyente.' Evidence of this conflict already appears in Mi religion y otros ensayos (1900-05) and religious problems are also discussed in his articles on Spanish American literature, the majority of which were written between 1901 and 1906. In one of these articles we find a possible source for San Manuel Bueno. The article in question, published in June 1903, is a review of Reminiscencias tudescas, by the Colombian Santiago P6rez Triana.2 These reminiscences are in reality short stories written by one who recalls his university days with a certain sentimentality and nostalgia. Unamuno was a good friend of P6rez Triana, who had spent several years in Spain. Although Unamuno sometimes preferred books written in his own passionate style and those which expressed ideas similar to his own, he also was stimulated by other ideas and often returned to them since originalidad de Unamuno fu6 revelandose en el contraste de su pensamiento con el de otros.3 In one of the stories in P6rez Triana's collection, Unamuno seems to have found the seed which was to germinate into San Manuel Bueno, since we find the following sentence in his review: El relato que mas me interesa es el tercero, 'Karl,' la historia de un pastor protestante que ha perdido la fe y sigue, sin embargo, lealmente su parroquia.4 The amiable and slightly ironic tone of the work may have caused Unamuno to write a study of the same theme into which he poured all of the intense feeling that he usually devoted to religious questions. Karl was one of P6rez Triana's university friends and is treated sympathetically, although the identification of author and character is lacking. Karl was a very learned student of theology who planned to become a clergyman; he was almost born ordained, since he was the only son of a family in which the oldest son had always been a clergyman. What must have aroused Unamuno's intense emotion was the cold reasoning of Karl's speech about his loss of faith, in which there was not a trace of religious conflict; the exploitation and formalism of religion were blamed. Karl never rebelled against his destiny because of the economic consequences that this action would have entailed. He affirmed his belief that he could wholly fulfill the functions required of him and his almost disdainful attitude toward his future parishioners contrasts strongly with San Manuel's attitude toward the people of Valverde. His real vocation was philology a d he finally left his village after providing for his family and became professor of Sanskrit in India. It is significant that Unamuno wrote the lines quoted above, since Karl did not continue rigiendo lealmente su parroquia. The inaccuracy of Unamuno's summary is important because it shows that his own solution of the prob-

Some Historical Values in a Famous Mexican Novel

Los bandidos de rio frio, the famous Mexican “costumbrista” novel set in the decades prior to the middle of the nineteenth century, has been considered the outstanding production of its author, Manuel Payno y Flores (1810–1894). Critics of Spanish American literature frequently have dissected the work for merits and defects primarily from a literary standpoint, although many of them have called attention to its unusual sociological-historical elements. Professor J. R. Spell has ranked it, along with other novels of Payno, the best social presentation of Mexico through a fiction medium since Francisco J. Lizardi’s El Periquillo Sarniento, while Antonio Castro Leal has stated that “the spectacle is so rich and varied that it may well be said that the novel is the painting of an entire epoch.”

Spanish-American Literature in the Last Twenty-Five Years

Spanish-American Literature in the Last Twenty-Five Years

"These We Value": The Status of Research in Contemporary Spanish American Literature, 1900-50

"These We Value": The Status of Research in Contemporary Spanish American Literature, 1900-50

The Problem of Andean Vocabulary

For the student of Spanish American literature, the problem of Andean vocabulary bulks large. My recent study of fourteen novels and two collections of short stories of the Andean region has pointed up the difficulties that foreigners, -and, no doubt, natives-encounter in reading literature from this region. The works investigated were by Peruvian, Ecuadorean, and Bolivian writers and all dealt with some aspect of the life of the Andean Indian. All told, in the sixteen volumes read, there were some five hundred items not included either in the latest (1947) Spanish Academy Dictionary or in the second edition of Malaret (1) or in Santamaria (2). I am of course aware that for some time to come there will be no dictionary that will contain all the vast number of words of Spanish America. Both Santamaria (3) and Malaret (4) have made clear the fact that their dictionaries are incomplete and will have to be revised to include other terms as they qualify for entry. A dictionary of the two or three Indian languages most frequently used with their Spanish equivalent has been suggested as a partial solution to the problem since it cannot be expected that Malaret or Santamaria should be interested in making dictionaries primarily of Indian words. It was since our own list was compiled in 1946 that the 1946 edition of Malaret's dictionary appeared; it includes thirty-four of our words. It is not inconceivable that many more will be added to future editions. In the meantime, the problem of reading the fiction of the Andean region with understanding remains, and it is to this point that the present brief study is directed. It is clear that some of the words we shall offer may not be Americanisms by rigid definition of the term. The reader will, we hope, bear with our inability occasionally to determine just what an Americanism is. The items of our list of five hundred may be categorized as 1) coined words 2) customs items, 3) animals, 4) articles of clothing, 5) work and workers, 6) buildings and furniture, 7) rare diminutives or augmentatives, 8) familiar words with unusual application, 9) amusements and diversions, 10) variant spellings, 11) geographical names, 12) Indian expressions, 13) superstitions, 14) trees, shrubs and plants, 15) foods and drinks. The number of words under these categories varies widely, with coined words and animal words numbering some sixty items each. The originality of the authors would account for the coining of many interesting forms, and the nature of the novels, which deal with people living in villages or remote country areas keenly aware of their natural sur-

An Anthology of Spanish American Literature

An Anthology of Spanish American Literature

Spanish American Literature in 1946

T HE year 1946 has been saddened for us by the deaths of four great figures in literature: Alcides Arguedas, Antohio Caso, Armando Alonso, and Pedro Henriquez Urefia. Alcides Arguedas was one of the earliest and most outspoken indianistas. Pueblo enfermo, written in 1909, is a landmark in sociology and one of the most searching studies ever made of the Indian problem; his novel, Raza de bronce, published ten years later, is probably the most famous of all indianista novels. Sociologist, historian, novelist, and diplomat, Arguedas is highly honored and widely known; he is one of the great Bolivians of all time, Antonio Caso devoted his life to the study and teaching of philosophy. His strong opposition to positivism shaped a whole generation of Mexican philosophers. His was a life of selfless consecration to truth and reason, and with his death America has lost one of her great thinkers, writers, and teachers.

What the Pan American Union Is Doing to Foster the Study of the Spanish Language and of Spanish American Literature and Culture

EARLY in the fall, as school and college faculties were making plans for the coming school year, a superintendent of schools in Kansas wrote the Pan American Union, asking how his school-system might become an associate of the Pan American Union, in order benefit from the assistance of the Union in planning school programs. The answer was, of course, that since the United States is a member of the Union of American Republics, of which the Pan American Union is the headquarters and secretariat, all teachers, superintendents and pupils, and indeed all the people in general, are automatically associate members, so speak, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. Before listing the various concrete programs of the Pan American Union in the field of cultural exchange, encouragement of the study of language and literature, and so on, let us consider for a moment the less tangible, but no less important aspect of fellowship which is characteristic of this organization, truly international in its plans and programs. Fifty-six years is not very long in the history of the world, but in the history of international organizations it is impressive. The Pan American Union, with its background of continuous cooperation, has increased its activities and services, while holding its fundamental purpose: to promote friendship and close relations among the Republics of the American Continent and peace and security within their borders by fostering constructive cooperation among them. This very international aspect of the organization of the Pan American Union, with staff-members representative of many of the American republics, and with close working relations with individuals and agencies, governmental and private, in all the republics, makes possible a unique contribution the work of educators, in both formal and informal programs in the field of language, literature, and culture. Without tracing in detail the historical development of the interest and services of the Pan American Union in educational matters, it may be

Knowing Cuba through Books

C UBA is one of our nearest neighbors and probably one whose history has been most closely interwoven with our own. This beautiful island, whose cultural life has developed so richly and in such a different fashion from ours, lies close upon our Florida, not two hours distant by air. And yet to most Americans, even to those who profess some knowledge of Latin America, real Cuba is less known than Mexico or even Argentina and Brazil. Part of this, paradoxically enough, is doubtr less due to very proximity of Cuba to United States. Thousands of Americans come yearly to Havana, stay for a few days at Hotel Nacional, visit Morro Castle, seek (usually in vain) for the native rumba, and go home faintly, confused by too many Cuba Libres, seldom wiser than they were before or very conscious of fact that they were touching a cultural pattern which is complex, important, and distinct from others in America. From them spreads legend that Cuba is just another version of Miami-perhaps slightly Latinized. To my shame I will confess that, although I had visited Cuba before being stationed there as an officer of American Embassy and had taught courses in Spanish American literature for some years, true character of Cuba was nearly as unknown to me as it is to average tourist. To my credit, I will say that I have made some effort to crumble wall of superficial misconceptions and in so doing I have tried academic-wise to collect a small shelf of fundamental books which might help a foreigner who with goodwill wants to know how Cubans explain what they are to themselves. Having been trained in what we fondly refer to as a tradition of scholarly objectivity, I prepared a questionnaire and sent it to some twenty Cuban friends and acquaintances who would be generally classified as intellectual leaders. They included such well-known figures as Jose Maria Chac6n y Calvo, Juan Marinello, Fernando Ortiz, and Herminio Portell Vila. As far as possible an attempt was made to avoid restricting my list of consultants to members of a particular intellectual or political group. That is important in Cuba, as in most Latin American countries.1

An Outline History of Spanish-American Literature

An Outline History of Spanish-American Literature

An Outline History of Spanish-American Literature.

An Outline History of Spanish-American Literature.

An Outline History of Spanish American Literature

An Outline History of Spanish American Literature

Glances at Spanish-American Literature

When one talks of Spanish-American literature, a score of problems come to mind and among them the old question of whether we are to discuss Latin-, Ibero-, Hispano-, or Spanish-American literature. In this sketch I propose to use the term “Spanish-American” since I am deliberately excluding Portuguese- and French-American works in order to concentrate on those literary manifestations written in the Castilian tongue on the American continent.

Spanish American Literature Compared with That of the United States

T HE three most important literatures of this Western Hemisphere are the Brazilian, the Spanish American and the Anglo-American. This essay, as the title indicates, will have to do with only two of these, the literature that has been produced in that part of the New World that was colonized by Spain and the literature that received its language and cultural traditions from England. In spite of many differences due to varying racial psychology, cultural inheritance, and social and political conditions, there is a notable similarity in the main trends of all the literatures of the New World. A general survey of Spanish American Literature has almost the same main divisions or periods as a literary history of the United States: the Colonial Period is followed by the Revolutionary; Neoclassicism makes way for Romanticism; Realism lays the foundation for Contemporary Literature. Within these larger divisions there will be noted many differences in detail, differences that are more interesting and more significant than the general similarities. The similarity of the main trends, it should be said in passing, is not the result of direct influence of either literature upon the other. The points of contact have been so few and so small that, until the last two or three decades, direct literary relations may be said to have been non-existent. Similar conditions and similar European influences account for the resemblance in general tendencies. More significant than the literary actions and reactions that grew out of the close cultural relations of the New World with the Old is the longrange tendency of all the American literatures toward national independence. In the beginning, and for many generations, the literature produced in the English and Spanish colonies was merely an extension of the literature of the mother country. In the Spanish colonies cultural traditions were stronger and more tenacious than in the English colonies because of closer political relations with Spain and a social organization that differed little from that of the mother country. These retarding influences, and the fact -that the colonial regime lasted twice as long as in this country, explain the comparative slowness of the movement toward literary independence in Spanish America during the first three centuries. Yet there, as here,

Notes on Longfellow in Spanish America

LONGFELLOW, Poe, and Whitman constitute the trilogy of North American writers most widely translated and read in Spanish America.' Emerson is the only other figure of nineteenth-century letters esteemed on a plane with these favored three, albeit not as a poet but rather as one of the New World's few inspired and inspiring philosophers. In the opinion of many Spanish American critics Emerson should occupy the place held by the Cambridge bard as one of our three great writers of the past. And actually, if rated according to a more severe test, that of the influence he has exerted on Spanish American literature and thought, and not according to his vogue as judged from the number of Spanish translations of his works-in which case he would trail in four or fifth place with Bryant and Lowell-Emerson would be entitled incontestably to a permanent place in the company of Poe and Whitman. Of American poets, however, Longfellow has earned the distinction of being the one who has had the largest number of his poems translated by the greatest number of translators. But even on this score, he is rapidly losing ground to Poe. As we shall see below, the former reached the pinnacle of his fame in the '90s of the last century, at about the very time that Poe's star was looming bright in the Modernist sky. From that time down to the present Poe has been gaining steadily on Longfellow, who has had few translators in the last thirty years. The table herewith will give the present relative standing of the two poets with respect to the number and spread of their works translated into Spanish; in order to afford a clearer picture of the extent of Poe's advance over Longfellow in recent years, I have included in parentheses the figures given by Paul Thomas Manchester in 1927.2

Progress in Providing the Bibliographical Background for Spanish American Studies

IN 1912 Romanic Review published a Bibliography of Spanish American Literature which covered thirty-one pages and listed 1,228 items. Its author was Alfred Coester. With its publication a new epoch in history of Inter-American cultural relations began. Before it appeared there had been very little interest in United States in Spanish American books. The books themselves were hard to find and news about them was practically nonexistent. In his search through Poole's Index of Periodicals Professor Coester had been able to discover only one review of any Spanish American publication and that one, which discussed a few volumes of Mexican and Cuban poetry, had been written in 1849. Among all items of his bibliography there appear only two books by North American authors: G. P. Winship's Early South American Newspapers (Worcester, 1908) and Frederick Starr's Readings from Modern Mexican Authors (Chicago, 1904). Professor Coester's bibliography was based upon first great representative collection of Spanish American literature to be assembled in this country-that of Hispanic Society of America, whose library at that time contained the largest collection of books pertaining to literature of Spanish America that has ever been gathered in one place.' The Society had opened its library to scholars just a few years before (1908) and Professor Coester was first to explore its riches and report his findings to his colleagues in United States and throughout world. In three decades which have passed since 1912 spiritual ties between two Americas have grown stronger than in three centuries before that date. The literature of Spanish America has become a matter of deep concern to North American scholars. Some of most devoted of these, recognizing that adequate bibliographical information is indispensable basis for valid historical and critical judgment, have dedicated much time and labor to task of providing this essential background for studies in field of literature.