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Puerto Rican Poetry
An Anthology from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times
Edited by Roberto Marquez
University of Massachusetts Press
This volume offers the most wide-ranging and comprehensive collection of Puerto Rican poetry available in English. It includes the work of sixty-four poets, as well as many previously inaccessible selections from Puerto Rico's tradition of popular verse forms—coplas, décimas, bombas—produced by anonymous writers. All are presented in English, contextualized and individually introduced by Roberto Márquez, a distinguished translator and literary scholar.
Book I, "Before Columbus and After, 1400–1820," focuses on the foundational origins of Puerto Rican poetry and the clash of competing visions embodied in the rich and heterogeneous corpus of anonymous popular verse forms. Book II, "The Creole Matrix: Notions of Nation, 1821–1950s," concentrates on the period in which a distinctively Puerto Rican consciousness emerged and the island's subsequent experience as a U. S. colony in the decades after the Spanish-Cuban-American War up to formal establishment of Commonwealth status. Books III and IV are devoted, respectively, to the era of insular "Critique, Revolt, and Renewal" in the mid-twentieth century, and to the "New Creoles, New Definitions" that developed in the late twentieth century, including the distinct and parallel growth of Puerto Rican poetry in the mainland United States.
In addition to a general introduction and concise biographical profiles of each poet, Márquez provides a detailed "Chronology" of the history of the island that has shaped the poets and informed their work. The resulting volume is a major contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Puerto Rican literature and the heterogeneous society in which it has been produced.
Book I, "Before Columbus and After, 1400–1820," focuses on the foundational origins of Puerto Rican poetry and the clash of competing visions embodied in the rich and heterogeneous corpus of anonymous popular verse forms. Book II, "The Creole Matrix: Notions of Nation, 1821–1950s," concentrates on the period in which a distinctively Puerto Rican consciousness emerged and the island's subsequent experience as a U. S. colony in the decades after the Spanish-Cuban-American War up to formal establishment of Commonwealth status. Books III and IV are devoted, respectively, to the era of insular "Critique, Revolt, and Renewal" in the mid-twentieth century, and to the "New Creoles, New Definitions" that developed in the late twentieth century, including the distinct and parallel growth of Puerto Rican poetry in the mainland United States.
In addition to a general introduction and concise biographical profiles of each poet, Márquez provides a detailed "Chronology" of the history of the island that has shaped the poets and informed their work. The resulting volume is a major contribution to our understanding and appreciation of Puerto Rican literature and the heterogeneous society in which it has been produced.
Without a doubt, the most complete and comprehensive anthology of Puerto Rican poetry available in Spanish or English . . . a timely and important addition to the study of Latin American literature in general and Puerto Rican literature in particular.'—William Luis, author of Dance between Two Cultures:
Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States
'I cannot emphasize enough what an important book this is, and how admirable and noble Roberto Márquez has been to dedicate himself with such perseverance and intelligence to this imposing task. He has built a forceful cultural bridge just where and when one is needed, and gratitude will surely be due him for generations to come.'—Juan Flores, author of From Bomba to Hip Hop:
Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity
'There are few scholars who could have pulled this off with the erudition, wit and sensibility that Roberto Márquez has. . . . Márquez has managed to give us a true anthology of Puerto Rican poetry.'—CENTRO: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies
'This potent anthology not only offers a multiplicity of perspectives on Puerto Rican literature and society but deepens our understanding of the commonwealth's history.'—Library Journal
'The intent of this book is to provide non-Spanish speaking Anglophones access to the multicultural originality and geographical scope of Puerto Rican poetic traditions. Márquez skillfully achieves this goal. . . . Highly recommended.'—Choice
'From the very first pages this anthology takes you by surprise. It is a well-structured and clearly laid-out evolution of Puerto Rican poetry, from three centuries before Spanish colonization right up to the present, and it is full of historical detail and cultural context. The scholarship is astute and insightful, and allows the voices of those who were 'there' to speak about the poetry they heard when they first encountered it. This allows for a historical context to emerge with the poetry that gives meaning and substance to a culture that has often been imposed on by other, dominant cultures. . . . This is an outstanding anthology and deserves its place among the best anthologies written on Caribbean and Latin American literature.'—Kliatt
'Major themes in history and the subject of poetry don't usually go together in the curriculum, but this anthology shows why they should. . . . Márquez's deft translations, many of poems previously unavailable in English, leave every lyric voice clear and unburdened.'—Multicultural Review
'These are not just excellent translations; surely they are some of the best translations available for many of these poems, if not the only ones. . . . This collection is a treasure trove that has the potential to bring an underappreciated genre successfully to a new audeicne, and a priceless resource for anyone exploring Puerto Rican poetry, especially those who previously would have been hindered by language or lack of available resources.'—Caribbean Review of Books
'In Puerto Rican Poetry: An Anthology from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times, editor Roberto Marquez provides a wide-ranging and comprehensive collection of Puerto-Rican poetry that dates back to the era of conquest and colonization to contemporary poets on both the mainland and the islands....Although no one anthology can truly capture the vast works of contemporary Puerto Rican writers, this collection is a first step in the right direction...[by] providing an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the genesis and exploration of Puerto-Rican literature.'—Phati'tude Literary Magazine
Roberto Márquez is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Mount Holyoke College.
