Customer Reviews

Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

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Marti was a prodigy, a genius, yet he is little known in the U.S. either for his prose or poetry. Those who have heard of him may associate him with Radio Marti or know him as a Cuban revolutionary.

While this beautifully rendered translation includes a broad spectrum of Marti's works, some not previously translated, his descriptions of America in the latter half ot the nineteenth century are by themselves sufficient reason to buy this book.

Marti, coming from a different culture, sees things about America that we do not, and he describes them with a passion lacking in the reportage of his North American contemporaries.

The Cuban character, as it turns out, is not so much a development of the post-Castro trauma in which so many Cuban-Americans live but rather the expression of a deep and inescapable sense of exile. In this gorgeous, captivating translation of Marti's writings--some appearing in English for the first time--this 19th century journalist and poet is truly the epic voice of the Cuban people, articulating their pathos and homesickness in his dispatches from New York, putting his finger into the wounds of their suffered humanity in his poetry and travelogues. An elegant, profound picture of the Cuban soul, long before the Ilan Gonzalez events cast such an unfriendly light upon it.

Here at last--in English--is a comprehensive selection of Martí's writing, translated by a masterful hand. It leaves all other attempts at this task far behind. Esther Allen meets the challenges of Martí's exuberant and complex style with extraordinary success. This book will be a landmark text for college courses on Martí as a Latin American and Latino writer, and is an excellent introduction for the general public. Bravo to all involved in this effort to bring Martí to American readers!

This collection of Marti's essays and letters are excellent reading for Marti scholars and beginners alike. The works are in chronological order and cover the most pivotal periods of Marti's life. Both of Marti's strongest qualities, the poet and the freedom fighter, are represented with conviction. This book is a definite must read for anyone looking to explore the mind one of the greatest literary figures of all time.

Marti, also known to decent Cubans as "The Apostle," became one of Latin America's icons of classic literature, war patriot, compassionate human being, poet, brilliant writer and journalist; A man of the times, he is venerated today by every thoughtful Cubano who embraces freedom, democracy, and human dignity.
I wish I knew what his reaction would be if he sees our beloved country being raped, physically and morally destroyed, and its flag desecrated by a band of atrocious murderers, megalomaniacs and hatemongers. Most certainly he'll experience anger, shame, or a wind that blows out the lamp of his powerful mind.

Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir.

Jose Marti's writings were really my first entry into Latin American political thought. I was greatly impressed by his writing style and his ability to project how the Western hemisphere's development would unfold over the 20th Century. This is an important book for understanding the region, and also modern today Cuba and Venezuela.