The Cuban Condition: Translation and Identity in Modern Cuban Literature (Cambridge Studies in Latin American and Iberian Literature) [Hardcover]

Gustavo Pérez Firmat (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521327474 | ISBN-13: 978-0521327473 | Publication Date: July 28, 1989 | Edition: First edition

The sense of the radical newness of Spanish America found in literary works from the chronicles of the conquest to the work of the criollistas has more recently given way to a stronger recognition of the transatlantic roots of much Spanish-American literature. This indebtedness does not imply subservience; rather, the New World's cultural and literary autonomy lies in the distinctive ways in which it assimilated its cultural inheritance. Professor Pérez Firmat explores this process of assimilation or transculturation in the case of Cuba, and proposes a new understanding of the issue of Cuban national identity through revisionary readings of both literary and non-literary works by Juan Marinello, Fernando Ortiz, Nicolds Guillén, Alejo Carpentier and others, dating from the early decades of the twentieth century, a time of intense self-reflection in the nation's history. Using a critical vocabulary derived from these works, he argues that Cuban identity is translational rather than foundational and that cubanía emerges from a nuanced, self-conscious recasting of foreign models.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Firmat explores the process of assimilation or transculturation in the case of Cuba, and proposes a new understanding of the issue of Cuban national identity through revisionary readings dating from the early decades of the twentieth century, a time of intense self-reflection in the nation's history. He argues that Cuban identity is translational rather than foundational and that cubanía emerges from a nuanced, self-conscious recasting of foreign models.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; First edition edition (July 28, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521327474
• ISBN-13: 978-0521327473
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,952,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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