Jose Marti Reader: Writings on the Americas

by José Martí, Iván A. Schulman (Introduction)

“[Martí] added a social agenda to the historic program of national liberation and instantly converted a movement devoted to the establishment of a new nation into a force dedicated to shaping a new society. Martí transformed rebellion into revolution. . . . Like a master weaver, Martí pulled together all the separate threads of Cuban discontent—social, economic, political, racial, historical—and wove them into a radical movement of enormous force.”—Louis A. Pérez Jr, author of José Martí in the United States
 
“Oh Cuba! . . . the blood of Martí was not yours alone; it belonged to an entire race, to an entire continent; it belonged to the powerful youth who have lost probably the best of teachers; he belonged to the future!”—Rubén Darío
 
This new edition of an elegant anthology features bilingual poetry, a revised translation, and several new pieces. It presents the full breadth of José Martí’s his political essays and writings on culture, his letters, and his poetry. Readers will discover a literary genius and an insightful political commentator on troubled US-Latin America relations.
 

Genres: Poetry, History, Essays, Politics, Literature, Latin American, Nonfiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Born José Julián Martí y Pérez, he was a Cuban nationalist leader and an important figure in Latin American literature. During his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a professor, and a political theorist. Through his writings and political activity, he became a symbol for Cuba's bid for independence against Spain in the 19th century, and is referred to as El Apóstol; "Apostle of Cuban Independence". He also fought against the threat of United States expansionism into Cuba.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jose Marti was a giant of his day. This former Cuban revolutionary was the forefather of the same spirit that inspired the Cuban Revolution of Castro and Geuvara. His literary style is not always easy in the translation, but his words linger with you...and show the passion of someone who sees the injustice in the world and is willing to go to any lengths...and does...to make things better.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this collection of articles, speeches, letters, journals and poetry of Jose Marti, and being gripped in their singularity of purpose, and in the author’s overt selflessness, one can’t help but feel a lesser mortal.

Jose Marti was of Spanish parentage, born in Cuba, which he embraced as his mother country. He was outspokenly opposed to a colonial government that siphoned off the resources of his island while subjecting it to brutal governance. First imprisoned at the tender age of 16 for his political opposition, Marti embraced martyrdom for his country as his sole purpose on earth very early in his life: “Cuba is an altar for the offering of our lives, not a pedestal for lifting ourselves above it.” He was a vocal anti-slavery proponent who had a liberal, somewhat Utopian vision for Cuba, in which black, white and mulatto would live in equal prosperity. He was also a tireless organizer of the revolution of 1895 while exiled in America, a country he was impressed by and yet wary of for its designs to annex or buy Cuba from the Spaniards. He wooed the Cuban émigré population in Florida to help with the revolution in Cuba but warned them about cozying up to their host nation.

Due to his Modernist style where everything from essay to political speech reads like a prose poem, he can be a bit overbearing to read, and I wondered how much he managed to stir the masses with this flowery rhetoric. His speeches read like a rant, recycling the same issues, suddenly darting into new areas, then returning to older themes. His allusions and metaphors are hard to relate to, and his references to the history of America (meaning both South and North) need a trusty encyclopaedia by your side for reference. I found his letters more personal, for he is communicating with his family or with close friends, on the eve of his death. And he is unabashed in expressing his love for those near to him. His war journal, chronicling the last month of his life, while at the battle front in Cuba, is the most dramatic, for it cuts out the rhetoric and captures the imminent danger ahead.

Marti’s love for South America and for Cuba in particular, jumps out in his writing. He was also imminently qualified to speak on behalf of the southern continent for he was consul for Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina while in the USA and he also lived briefly in Venezuela, Mexico and Guatemala. And yet he held the most ambivalent attitude towards the United States. While impressed with the North American work ethic and progress, he was appalled by its racism and its disparities in income and lifestyle. “Between the shanties of Dakota and the virile and barbaric nation in process of growth there, and the cities of the East – sprawling, privileged, well-bred, sensual and unjust – lies an entire world.”

Marti died in action in 1895 by venturing into the revolutionary war he had helped start, because he felt that he needed to be in the vanguard, because he could only earn the trust of his co-revolutionaries if he led from the front and not from the safe shores of North America.

Reading his writing, I understood why he is regarded as a saint in Cuba even to this day, and why his memorial in Santiago de Cuba still has a 24/7 changing of the guard routine that has endured for all these years: his passion for his cause is palpable. And yet, Marti’s efforts notwithstanding, Cuba was liberated from the Spanish in 1898 only after America entered the conflict. This liberation led to another form of slavery and corruption by a procession of the island’s own rulers culminating with Fulgencio Batista, and was then followed by communism in 1959 when Castro came to power. When I look at Cuba today, I wonder if it is really a free nation. By freeing itself from Spain, did it not become hostage to its own form of economic and political bondage? Would Marti be happy with his Cuba if he were alive today? Or is his legacy still a work-in-progress?

[Doann Houghton-Alico · Rating 4 out of 5]

He lived in the US when exiled from Cuba for many years before the revolution to free Cuba from the Spanish colonial powers. His perceptions on US culture, especially our treatment of the native people here, are interesting and still relevant today.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent introduction to Marti; the editor chose focus over breadth and as a result, first time readers may think Marti somewhat single-minded. Still, it should be obvious to anyone in academia that he was way way way ahead of his time; in contrast to contemporary scribblers he comes off as lucid, humble, and visionary. His ideas are rooted in poetry, conviction and struggle never at the expense of rational thought. Interesting to read this in the context of the primary debates (sound bites). Only Marti's poetry is presented in bilingual format. Not a bad place to start.

[Robert Collette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of Marti's writings are more interesting than others to a casual fan. I wanted to read some of his writings because of the connection he has with Cuba. Over all its a good selection of his writings but not something I would recommend to just anyone.

[Abe]

Selected writings of José Martí.

[Roberto Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apostol de Cuba

[Mills College Library]

973.5 M378 2007

[Nyree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martí's integrity, maturity and wisdom shine through his accounts of life, love, Cuba and the revolution thanks to his beautiful expression. An absolute pleasure to read. His letter to his younger sister is one of my all-time favourite writings on love. Not to be missed.