Volume 50 / Humanities

LITERATURE: SPANISH AMERICA

19th Century: Spanish American Literature Before Modernism

WILLIAM H. KATRA, Assistant Professor of Spanish, University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse

RESEARCHERS THIS PAST biennium continue to emphasize the historical or political
relevance of 19th-century Latin American writers and their works. There is an
implicit awareness of the predominantly ethical agenda of the region's elites
during the post-independence period, of their attempts to exercise a positive
influence in societies characterized by inchoate social and political institutions
and relentless civil strife. The pragmatic objectives of that literary effort
contrast sharply with the more broadly "aesthetic" focus of European literature
during the same period.

Several recent works highlight the contributions of important intellectuals
whose influence was not limited to the field of literature. In this regard,
the Biblioteca Ayacucho - approaching its 100th volume - continues to set the
standard for academic publications. The volume dedicated to Honduras' José Cecilio
del Valle (item bi 89007327) follows Ayacucho's successful formula of joining
a carefully selected anthology or annotated edition to a short critical introduction
and an exhaustive chronology. The governments of Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican
Republic add a nationalist flavor to similar works that treat, respectively,
the writings and times of José Othón, Lisandro Alvarado, and Gastón Deligne
(items bi 89007357, bi 89007356, and bi 89007326). Two brilliant chapters from
Angel Rama's La ciudad letrada (item bi 890016524) relate the isolated city
of Latin America's 19th century to the separation that existed between intelligentsia
and pueblo, culture and sociopolitical reality.

A revived critical interest in costumbrista literature also relates to this
neo-romantic highlighting of early nationalist or regionalist sentiment. This
was a hybrid genre which sometimes approximated the essay in its didactic treatment
of social types, at other times resembling the regional novel in its narrative
plot structure. Ayacucho's anthology of Cuban costumbristas (item bi 89007335)
is noteworthy. The volume published by the Univ. Nacional Autónoma de México
on that country's short romantic novels (item bi 89007334) and the Colombian
government's anthology of Eugenio Díaz Castro (item bi 89007333) are also of
excellent quality.

A similar historical or ideological focus - as opposed to a stylistic or aesthetic
orientation - predominates in several publications that critically evaluate
the literature and ideas of writer-militants in relation to their times. Some
critics consciously participate in "revisionist" movements that put forth alternative
interpretations to distorted or mystified "official stories." Such is the case
of Enrique de Gandía's authoritative treatment of the politics of Martín Fierro's
creator, José Hernández (item bi 89007365); William H. Katra's studies of the
early writing and career of Domingo F. Sarmiento (items bi 89007373 and bi 89016516);
María Rosa Olivera-Williams' consideration of gauchesque poetry (item bi 89007377);
Fernando Operé's analysis of the literature attacking Argentine dictator Juan
Manuel de Rosas (item bi 89007350); and Bernardo Subercaseaux's study (item
bi 89007359) highlighting the philosophical and political content of José V.
Lastarria's work. Doris Sommer's political and feminist appraisals of Latin
America's "nation-building" narratives (item bi 89016515) and the Dominican
"romance" Enriquillo (item bi 89016620) have a similar impact.

The "incestual" blend of history and culture also characterizes a significant
new tendency in criticism: the focus on marginal or "sub-literary" texts. Most
outstanding among such essays is Ana Cara-Walker's (item bi 89007351), which
traces the evolving characterization of the "Cocoliche," or the part-gaucho,
part-immigrant Chaplinesque clown, through Argentine journalistic and theatrical
representations. The studies on Mexican pulp fiction, crude abolitionist rhymes
from Cuba, domestic feminine verses, and Afro-Argentine poetry of Rosas' Federation
are also worthy of note.