Man-Making Words

In a continent of poets, Nicolás Guillén stood out above the crowd. In Castro's Cuba he had no peer. He belonged to the great generation of Latin American writers—Pablo Neruda being the most famous—for whom politics and literature were inextricably linked. . . . Guillén was . . . a great actor, a wonderful declaimer of his own and others' poetry, and always a bit larger than life. But it was chiefly through his influence and support that the black element in Cuban culture, politics, and society was given official encouragement and support.'—(Manchester) Guardian
'One of Latin America's best-known writers and the man who introduced African and Latin musical rhythms into verse. . . . Guillén's work celebrated Cuba's multiracial and ethnic mix as well as the 1959 communist revolution. . . . Prensa Latina said word of his death sent a 'shock wave' through Cuba's people, many of whom knew his verses by heart.'—Boston Globe
'Guillén, the national poet of Cuba, was often described as one of the finest poets of the Spanish language. He was certainly outstanding among Latin American poets for his folk-poetry reflecting the speech rhythms of ordinary people and the rich ethnic lore of his island. His best-known contribution to the poetry of Latin America was the interaction of African rhythms and Latin music, well represented by his development of the 'son' as a poetic form—the son (or black sound) being in the 1930s an established Cuban dance.'—Independent
'Guillén . . . was one of the three or four major Latin American poets of this century, and the most important of all those of the Negroist or Afro-Cuban tendency. His work was also widely known in Spain, where he was held in very high esteem.'—(London) Times