An entire century of poetry

Yuri Rodríguez

IMPASSIONED is a good description for the book El siglo entero, by the researcher, essayist and poet Virgilio López Lemus, published by Editorial Oriente and available in the country’s bookstores.

In this comprehensive and meticulous book, the author aims to offer his perspective on how poetry can reflect questions of identity and likewise be a motive of identity because of its expressive particularities, over one century in which our poetic production contributed relevant and diverse voices to Spanish language literature, such as José Lezama Lima, Nicolás Guillén and Dulce María Loynaz.

It is appropriate, then, for the objective of this text to be an introduction to explaining the island’s situation at the dawn of the 20th century. The devastation that resulted from the 1895 war, the frustration of the independence movement, the U.S. interventions in 1898 and 1906, and the presence of the Platt Amendment in the Constitution of the Republic are all essential elements for consideration by those exploring the context that influenced poetic creation in the early 20th century, and that differentiates it from its counterparts in Hispanic America, López Lemus affirms.

The writer uses a direct, clear style, free of ambiguity or other obstacles that hinder readers’ understanding. That style, unfettered by rhetorical word play, is a constant throughout the book’s six chapters and conclusion, organized chronologically. It maintains the elegant writing and the pleasant flow that is similar to previous books by López Lemus, and reveals this author’s most important premise: to establish crystal-clear communication with his potential readers.

Consequently, for the reader’s better understanding, the author begins most of the chapters by examining in detail the principles of the poetry in the period analyzed, exploring in depth poetic tendencies, themes and forms that predominated, without failing to mention economic, social and political events that transformed or modified national life and left their imprint on poetry.

Later, in each chapter, López Lemus notes the repercussion on the island’s lyrical production of visits by poets like Rubén Darío, Federico García Lorca and Juan Ramón Jiménez, Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda and Ernesto Cardenal, among the most renowned, as well as the impact of Ibero-American writers and those from other latitudes, whether in relation to their poetry collections being published in Cuba, or because their writings appeared in literary magazines of the time.

These chapters end with a year-by-year list of books of poetry published in each time period. They include assessments of the work of poets not frequently cited today, specifying their placement within the development of Cuban poetry and at the same time, reaffirming the contributions of poetry collections that have stood out for their importance in Cuba poetry.

Also enjoyably, López Lemus sometimes reflects on aspects that are not traditionally taken into account by critics. One example is his assessment of the neo-Romantic poetry of Montagú and Galárraga, generally considered insignificant and irrelevant; in his opinion, their work had a renovating impact on poetry’s erotic awakening, on the longing for a more sincere expression of carnality.

At other times, he suggests themes not yet addressed, but no less interesting, such as his brief outline comparing similarities and differences between Nicolás Guillén and Gastón Baquero, the masters of significant poetic worlds.

Virgilio López Lemus has admitted that El siglo entero stems from two of his previous works — the essay Palabras del trasfondo. Estudio sobre el coloquialismo cubano (Background Words. A study of Cuban colloquialism, 1988) and the anthology Doscientos años de poesía cubana. 1790-1990. Cien poemas antológicos (Two Hundred Years of Cuban poetry. 1790-1990, published in 1999). Within those two books, his latest title was in the works for the last 10 years, he observes.

Now this text of succinct and organic synthesis is available for those interested. Free of stereotypes or attempts to make conclusive statements, this text joins other studies investigating poetry as a 20th-century Cuban expression; it is unquestionably a book that will help us to learn more about ourselves.