Puerto Rican literature


Puerto Rican literature evolved from the art of oral story telling to its present-day status. Written works by the native islanders of Puerto Rico were prohibited and repressed by the Spanish colonial government. Only those who were commissioned by the Spanish Crown to document the chronological history of the island were allowed to write.
It wasn't until the late 19th century with the arrival of the first printing press and the founding of the Royal Academy of Belles Letters that Puerto Rican literature began to flourish. The first writers to express their political views in regard to Spanish colonial rule of the island were journalists. After the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War and the island was ceded to the Americans as a condition of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, writers and poets began to express their opposition of the new colonial rule by writing about patriotic themes.
With the Puerto Rican diaspora of the 1940s, Puerto Rican literature was greatly influenced by a phenomenon known as the Nuyorican Movement. Puerto Rican literature continued to flourish and many Puerto Ricans have distinguished themselves as authors, poets, novelists, playwrights, essayists and in all the fields of literature. The influence of Puerto Rican literature has transcended the boundaries of the island to the United States and the rest of the world.

Early history

Puerto Rican literature got off to a late start. This was because the Spanish colonial government, which ruled over Puerto Rico at that time, feared that Puerto Rico would develop its own social and cultural identity and eventually seek its independence. Therefore, written works by the native islanders were prohibited and were punishable by prison terms or banishment. The island, which depended on an agricultural economy, had an illiteracy rate of over 80% in the beginning of the 19th century. Even though the first library in Puerto Rico was established in 1642, in the Convent of San Francisco, access to its books was limited to those who belonged to the religious order. The only people who had access to the libraries and who could afford books were either appointed Spanish government officials or wealthy land owners. The poor had to resort to oral story-telling in what are traditionally known in Puerto Rico as Coplas and Decimas.
The island's first writers were commissioned by the Spanish Crown to document the chronological history of the island. Among these writers were Father Diego de Torres Vargas who wrote about the history of Puerto Rico, Father Francisco Ayerra de Santa María who wrote poems about religious and historical themes, and Juan Ponce de León II who was commissioned to write a general description of the West Indies.
The first native-born Puerto Rican governor, Ponce de León II, included information on Taíno culture, particularly their religious ceremonies and language. He also covered the early exploits of the conquistadors. These documents were sent to the National Archives in Sevilla, Spain, where they were kept.
Puerto Rican history, however, was to change forever with the arrival of the first printing press from Mexico in 1806. That same year Juan Rodríguez Calderón wrote and published the first book in the island, titled Ocios de la Juventud. In 1851, the Spanish appointed governor of Puerto Rico, Juan de la Pezuela Cevallo, founded the Royal Academy of Belles Letters. This institution contributed greatly to the intellectual and literary progress of the island. The school licensed primary school teachers, formulated school methods, and held literary contests. However, only those with government positions and the wealthy benefited from the formation of the institution. The first Puerto Rican writers came from some of the island's wealthiest families, and they were critical of the injustices of the Spanish Crown.

19th century

In 1806, the Spanish Colonial Government established "La Gaceta de Puerto Rico", Puerto Rico's first newspaper. The newspaper was biased in favor of the ideals of the government.
The first written works in Puerto Rico were influenced by the Romanticism of the time. Journalists were the first writers to express their political views in the newspapers of the day and later in the books which they authored. Through their books and novels, they expressed what they believed were the social injustices, which included slavery and poverty, brought upon the common Puerto Rican by the Spanish Crown. Many of these writers were considered to be dangerous liberals by the colonial government and were banished from the island. An example of this treatment was poet and journalist Francisco Gonzalo Marín, who wrote against the Spanish Crown. Some went to the Dominican Republic, Cuba or New York City where they continued to write about patriotic themes while in exile. The literature of these writers helped fuel the desire of some to revolt against the Spanish government in Puerto Rico, resulting in the failed attempt known as the Grito de Lares in 1868.
When the Americans invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War in 1898, many members of the Puerto Rican literary class welcomed them believing that eventually Puerto Rico would be granted its independence. Instead, Puerto Rico was declared a territory of the United States. The new government failed to realize that Puerto Rico was already a nation with its own culture and proceeded to Americanize the island. Many writers and poets expressed their opposition by writing about patriotic themes through their work. Puerto Rican literature continued to flourish.

Twentieth century migration to the U.S.

During the early part of the 20th century, many Puerto Ricans moved to the eastern coast and Mid-western parts of the United States in search of a better way of life. Most settled in cities such as New York and Chicago. There they faced racial discrimination and other hardships. Jesús Colón, known as the father of the Nuyorican Movement, was discriminated against because he was Black and had difficulty speaking English. He wrote about his experiences, as well as the experiences of other immigrants, becoming among the first Puerto Ricans to do so in English.
One of his works, A Puerto Rican in New York, preceded the literary movement known as the "Nuyorican Movement". Ultimately, the Nuyorican Movement significantly influenced Puerto Rican literature, spurring themes such as cultural identity and discrimination. The goal of the Nuyorican Movement is to maintain the cultural identity of the Puerto Rican people in a foreign land. This movement is composed of a group of intellectuals, writers and poets who express their experiences as Nuyoricans living in the United States, including Nicholasa Mohr, Piri Thomas, Pedro Pietri '' Esmeralda Santiago, and others.

Books and novels

Some of Puerto Rico's earliest writers were influenced by the teachings of Rafael Cordero. Among these was Dr. Manuel A. Alonso. In 1849 he published El Gíbaro, a collection of verses whose main themes were the poor Puerto Rican country farmer. Eugenio María de Hostos who wrote La peregrinación de Bayoán in 1863, which used Bartolomé de las Casas as a spring board to reflect on Caribbean identity. After this first novel, Hostos abandoned fiction in favor of the essay which he saw as offering greater possibilities for inspiring social change.
Alejandro Tapia y Rivera also known as the Father of Puerto Rican Literature, ushered in a new age of historiography with the publication of The Historical Library of Puerto Rico. Cayetano Coll y Toste was a Puerto Rican historian and writer. His work The Indo-Antillano Vocabulary is valuable in understanding the way the Taínos lived. Dr. Manuel Zeno Gandía in 1894 wrote La Charca and told about the harsh life in the remote and mountainous coffee regions in Puerto Rico. Dr. Antonio S. Pedreira, described in his work Insularismo the cultural survival of the Puerto Rican identity after the American invasion.
Puerto Rican novelists and short story writers whose works recount the experience by Puerto Rican immigrants to New York City include Edgardo Vega Yunqué, author of Blood Fugues; Giannina Braschi, author of Yo-Yo Boing!; Pedro Juan Soto, author of Spiks; and Manuel Ramos Otero.

Poetry

Early poetry

was Puerto Rico's first woman poet and playwright. In 1832 she published her first poem "La Ninfa de Puerto Rico". Her niece was Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier, whose "Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño", published in 1843, gave her the recognition of being one of the island's great poets. Alejandrina's son José Gautier Benítez is considered by many to be Puerto Rico's greatest Romantic-era poet. Lola Rodríguez de Tió was the poet who wrote the lyrics to the revolutionary "La Borinqueña" used by the revolutionists in the Grito de Lares. Poets José de Diego, Virgilio Dávila, Luis Lloréns Torres, Nemesio Canales, Francisco Matos Paoli, Juan Antonio Corretjer, Clemente Soto Vélez and Hugo Margenat were independence advocates who wrote poems with patriotic inspired themes.

Nationalism

In 1928, Soto Vélez together with Alfredo Margenat, Pedro Carrasquillo, Graciany Miranda Archilla, Fernando González Alberti, Luis Hernández Aquino, Samuel Lugo, Juan Calderón Escobar and Antonio Cruz Nieves founded the group "El Atalaya de los Dioses" which turned into the literary movement known as "Atalayismo." The "El Grupo Atalaya" movement sought to connect the poetic/literary world with political action and most of its members, including Soto Vélez became involved with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Giannina Braschi's postmodern work United States of Banana addresses the history of Puerto Rico decolonization efforts and declares the independence of Puerto Rico.

Universal lyricism

wrote under the name "Clara Lair" and published "Arras de Cristal" in 1937. In her poem she describes the everyday struggles of the common Puerto Rican. However, it was Julia de Burgos who was to be considered by many as one of the greatest poets to be born in Puerto Rico and who later lived in New York. The inspiration spurred by her love of Puerto Rico is reflected in her poem "Río Grande de Loíza". Other important lyric poets of the early twentieth century include Luis Palés Matos, Luis Lloréns Torres, and Evaristo Ribera Chevremont.
In her scholarly book Evaristo Ribera Chevremont: Voz de Vanguardia, Carmen Irene Marxuach has argued that while several of Ribera Chevremont's dozens of published books do treat the subjects of Puerto Rican nationality and regionalism, the majority of his verses move away from folkloric subject matter and excel in a more universal lyricism. Robert Márquez's anthology Puerto Rican Poetry: A Selection from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times offers a useful overview and translation into English of many of the most important Puerto Rican poets. In 1969, Victor Hernández Cruz became the first Hispanic poet to be published by a mainstream publishing house when Random House published his poem "Snaps". In 1981, Life Magazine named him one of America's greatest poets.''

Playwrights

One of Puerto Rico's greatest essayists and playwrights was Francisco Arriví known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Theater." Arriví who used a style known as Areyto presented in 1955, what is considered by many as one of greatest works, "Bolero y plena" at the University Theater and in 1958, he presented Vejigantes in the First Festival of Puerto Rican Theater.
These were followed by Sirena and Medusa en la Bahía. Arriví gained international recognition and his plays were presented abroad. He was instrumental in the establishment of various theater festivals and in the establishment of the Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré in Puerto Rico.
Among the other great playwrights of Puerto Rico are René Marqués, whose Juan Bobo and the Occidental Lady presents a buccolic vision of the island; whose Oxcart follows the hardships of a Puerto Rican family that moves from the island to New York City, and whose El Puertorriqueño Dócil y Otros Ensayos describes the psychological and political realities of the island.
José Luis González, whose País de cuatro pisos y otros ensayos describes the rigid structures of island society, and Luis Rafael Sánchez, whose plays, short stories, essays, and novels, especially La Guaracha del Macho Camacho have rendered him one of greatest Puerto Rican writers of his generation.
Among the Puerto Rican experimental theater writers is Giannina Braschi whose dramatic dialogues celebrate Puerto Rican artistic expression and honor the works of her compatriots Rafael Sánchez, Luis Palés Matos, Pedro Pietri, and Julia de Burgos. Braschi's work United States of Banana, which features Hamlet, Zarathustra and Hamlet on a mission to liberate Puerto Rico, was staged at the Shapiro Theater in New York City.
Younger contemporary Puerto Rican playwrights include Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya, founder of Casa Cruz de la Luna in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Also notable in this category is playwright and screenwriter José Rivera, the first Puerto Rican screenwriter to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Journalists

A variety of journalists and columnists further enrich Puerto Rican letters. The more than 300 editorials published by Nelson Antonio Denis in El Diario La Prensa about the New York/Puerto Rican diaspora, were recognized with repeated "Best Editorial Writing" awards from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Denis's history book War Against All Puerto Ricans, about the evolution of US-Puerto Rico relations since 1898, was the best-selling book in Puerto Rico in 2015 and 2016.
David Gonzalez is an award-winning journalist at the New York Times. Over a 25-year career, Gonzalez has written hundreds of stories in the New York Times which deal with the history, culture, politics and people of Puerto Rico. In 2013, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists inducted Gonzalez into its Hall of Fame, in recognition of his lifetime of committed and compassionate journalism.
Gerson Borrero is an award-winning journalist, radio host and TV commentator in New York City. He has been editor-at-large of City & State NY and editor-in-chief of El Diario/La Prensa, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in New York City. His press coverage has ranged from New York City politics, cultural reviews and personality profiles, to the Somos Uno Conference and the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Historians

Historians such as Dr. Delma S. Arrigoitia have written books and documented the contributions which Puerto Rican women have made to society. Arrigoitia was the first person in the University of Puerto Rico to earn a master's degree in the field of history. Her publications, which cover Puerto Rico's early-20th-century politicians, include: Jose De Diego el legislador, San Juan, Eduardo Giorgetti Y Su Mundo: La Aparente Paradoja De Un Millonario Genio Empresarial Y Su Noble Humanismo;, Puerto Rico Por Encima de Todo: Vida y Obra de Antonio R. Barcelo, 1868-1938; and Introduccion a la Historia de la Moda en Puerto Rico.
Teresita A. Levy's Puerto Ricans in the Empire: The History of Tobacco Cultivation in Puerto Rico, 1898-1940, a study of the tobacco-growing regions in the eastern and western highlands of Puerto Rico, is the first book to tell how Puerto Ricans challenged United States officials and fought successfully for legislation that benefited the island. Her book has been praised by scholars. Puerto Ricans in the Empire provides an excellent introduction to Puerto Rico's crucial tobacco industry, with fascinating material on farmer organizations and agricultural research."
—Herbert S. Klein, Gouverneur Morris Professor Emeritus of History Columbia University

Modern and contemporary Puerto Rican literature

After a nationalist tradition of Puerto Rican writers from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, the island catalogues authors by decade into "generations". Some highly representative writers from the early and mid-20th century were: Juan Antonio Corretjer, Luis Lloréns Torres, Luis Palés Matos, Enrique Laguerre, and Francisco Matos Paoli. These Puerto Rican writers wrote in Spanish and reflected a literary Latin American tradition, and offered a variety of universal and social themes. Major writers who got their start in the 1950s include José Luis González, René Marqués, Pedro Juan Soto, and Emilio Díaz Valcárcel.
Authors whose careers began in the 1960s and 1970s include Carmen Lugo Filippi, Lourdes Vázquez, Rosario Ferré, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Manuel Ramos Otero, Ángel Encarnación, Edgardo Sanabria Santaliz, Olga Nolla, Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá, Myrna Casas, and Luis López Nieves. Major writers of the 1980s and 1990s include Ana Lydia Vega, Giannina Braschi, Mayra Santos-Febres, Luz María Umpierre, and Eduardo Lalo.
Breakthrough voices of a new Puerto Rican literature began to emerge at the turn of the new century with the publication of Pedro Cabiya's Historias tremendas in 1999, declared Best Book of the Year by the Pen Club. Identity politics and the complexities of Puerto Rico's relationship with the US - topics that had dominated the work of previous writers - gave way to the exploration of new genres and themes, such as science-fiction, horror, fantasy, and noir, as seen in the short-stories, novels and comics by Pedro Cabiya, the experimentation by Bruno Soreno, and the short stories by José Liboy and Luis Negrón.
Emerging voices on the island include Rafael Acevedo, Moisés Agosto, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Janette Becerra, Ana María Fuster Lavín, Zoé Jiménez Corretjer, Juan López Bauzá, Alberto Martínez Márquez, Luis Negrón, Maribel Ortiz, Max Resto, and José E. Santos. Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Ángel Lozada, Benito Pastoriza Iyodo, Alfredo Villanueva Collado write and publish their works in Spanish on the mainland USA. Puerto Rican authors who write in English include Erika Lopez and Ernesto Quiñonez.
Anthologies that focus on Puerto Rican writers include: Literatura y narrativa puertorriqueña: La escritura entre siglos edited by Mario Cancel; Literatura puertorriqueña del siglo XX: Antología edited by Mercedes López Baralt; Los otros cuerpos: Antología de temática gay, lésbica y queer desde Puerto Rico y su diáspora, edited by David Caleb Acevedo, Moisés Agosto and Luis Negrón, which focuses on LGBT Puerto Rican literature, and Breaking Ground/Abriendo Caminos: Anthology of Puerto Rican Writers in New York , edited by Myrna Nieves.