Synopses & Reviews
Josand#233; Martand#237; (1853-1895) is the most renowned political and literary figure in the history of Cuba. A poet, essayist, orator, statesman, abolitionist, and the martyred revolutionary leader of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain, Martand#237; lived in exile in New York for most of his adult life, earning his living as a foreign correspondent. Throughout the 1880s and early 1890s, Martand#237;'s were the eyes through which much of Latin America saw the United States. His impassioned, kaleidoscopic evocations of that period in U.S. history, the assassination of James Garfield, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, the execution of the Chicago anarchists, the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans, and much more, bring it rushing back to life.
Organized chronologically, this collection begins with his early writings, including a thundering account of his political imprisonment in Cuba at age sixteen. The middle section focuses on his journalism, which offers an image of the United States in the nineteenth century, its way of life and system of government, that rivals anything written by de Tocqueville, Dickens, Trollope, or any other European commentator. Including generous selections of his poetry and private notebooks, the book concludes with his astonishing, hallucinatory final masterpiece, "War Diaries", never before translated into English.
Review
"Martand#237; is the most remarkable figure in the history of Cuba....No English-language collection is as comprehensive as this handsome new addition to the Penguin Classics."
and#8212;Tom Miller, The Los Angeles Times Book Review
Review
"Martand#237; is the most remarkable figure in the history of Cuba....No English-language collection is as comprehensive as this handsome new addition to the Penguin Classics."
and#8212;Tom Miller, The Los Angeles Times Book Review
Synopsis
Josand#233; Martand#237; (1853-1895) is the most renowned political and literary figure in the history of Cuba. A poet, essayist, orator, statesman, abolitionist, and the martyred revolutionary leader of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain, Martand#237; lived in exile in New York for most of his adult life, earning his living as a foreign correspondent. Throughout the 1880s and early 1890s, Martand#237;'s were the eyes through which much of Latin America saw the United States. His impassioned, kaleidoscopic evocations of that period in U.S. history, the assassination of James Garfield, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, the execution of the Chicago anarchists, the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans, and much more, bring it rushing back to life.
Organized chronologically, this collection begins with his early writings, including a thundering account of his political imprisonment in Cuba at age sixteen. The middle section focuses on his journalism, which offers an image of the United States in the nineteenth century, its way of life and system of government, that rivals anything written by de Tocqueville, Dickens, Trollope, or any other European commentator. Including generous selections of his poetry and private notebooks, the book concludes with his astonishing, hallucinatory final masterpiece, "War Diaries", never before translated into English.
Table of Contents
Translated by Esther Allen with an Introduction by Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a Josand#233; Martand#237;: An Introduction by Roberto Gonzand#225;lez Echevarrand#237;a
Chronology
Suggestions for Further Reading
Earliest Writings
Abdala
Letter to His Mother from Prison
Political Prison in Cuba
1871-1881
Notebooks 1-3
Early Journalism:
The Poor Neighborhoods of Mexico City
Sarah Bernhardt
Impressions of America (by a very fresh Spaniard)
1882-1890
Poetry:
Prologue to Juan Antonio Pand#233;rez Bonalde's Poem of Niagara
Ismaelillo:
Waking Dream/Sueand#241;o despierto
Fragrant Arms/Brazos fragantes
My Kinglet/Mi reyecillo
Son of My Soul/Hijo del alma
Free Verses/Versos libres:
My Verses
The Swiss Father/El padre suizo
Famous Island/Isla famosa
Love in the City/Amor de ciudad grande
I Hate the Sea/Odio el mar
Winged Cup/Copa con alas
Notebooks 4-15:
Undated Fragment
A Passion
from The Golden Age:
Pin the Tail on the Donkey: A New Game and Some Old Ones
Letters from New York:
Coney Island
The Trial of Guiteau
Prizefight
Emerson
Tribute to Karl Marx, Who Has Died
from La Amand#233;rica: The Brooklyn Bridge; The Glossograph; Indigenous Art; Mexico, the United States, and Protectionism; Graduation Day
The Indians in the United States
The World's Biggest Explosion
Impressionist Painters
A Great Confederate Celebration
The Cutting Case
The Poet Walt Whitman
Class War in Chicago: A Terrible Drama
A Walking Marathon
New York Under Snow
Blaine's Night
A Chinese Funeral
Inauguration Day
Political Correspondecne:
Letter to Emilio Nand#250;and#241;ez
Letter to General Mand#225;ximo Gand#243;mez
A Vindication of Cuba
1891-1894
Poetry:
Simple Verses/Versos sencillos:
Prologue
I (I am an honest man/Yo soy un hombre sincero)
III (I hate the masks and vices/Odio la mand#225;scara y vicio)
XXVIII (Past the manor with the tomb/Por la tumba del cortijo)
XXX (Blood-hued lightning cleaves/El rayo surca, sangriento)
XXXVI (Yes, I know: flesh/Ya sand#233;: de carne se puede)
XLV (I dream of marble cloisters/Sueand#241;o con claustros de mand#225;rmol)
Notebooks 18-20
Letters from New York:
Our America
The Lynching of the Italians
The Monetary Conference of the American Republics
A Town Sets a Black Man on Fire
from Patria:
The Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico
My Race
To Cuba!
The Truth About the United States
1895
Politics:
The Montecristi Manifesto
Final Correspondence:
Letter to His Mother
Letter to Manuel Mercado
War Diaries:
Part I: From Montecristi to Cap-Haand#239;tien
Part II: From Cap-Haand#239;tien to Dos Rand#237;os
Afterword by Esther Allen
Notes
Index