Selected Writings (Penguin Classics)

By José Martí, Esther Allen, Tiffany Clarke Harrison

Book Overview

Jose Marti (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, Marti 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, Marti'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. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142437042
• ISBN13: 9780142437049
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 462 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 5.0" x 1.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

How would Marti's reaction be upon beholding what Cuba has become

Marti, also known to decent Cubans as "The Apostle," became one of Latin America's icons of classic literature, war patriot, compassionate human being, poet, brilliant writer and journalist; A man of the times, he is venerated today by every thoughtful Cubano who embraces freedom, democracy, and human dignity. I wish I knew what his reaction would be if he sees our beloved country being raped, physically and morally destroyed, and its flag desecrated by a band of atrocious murderers, megalomaniacs and hatemongers. Most certainly he'll experience anger, shame, or a wind that blows out the lamp of his powerful mind. Andrew J. Rodriguez Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir.

A Complete Work!!!

This collection of Marti's essays and letters are excellent reading for Marti scholars and beginners alike. The works are in chronological order and cover the most pivotal periods of Marti's life. Both of Marti's strongest qualities, the poet and the freedom fighter, are represented with conviction. This book is a definite must read for anyone looking to explore the mind one of the greatest literary figures of all time.

A must for students of American history

Marti was a prodigy, a genius, yet he is little known in the U.S. either for his prose or poetry. Those who have heard of him may associate him with Radio Marti or know him as a Cuban revolutionary. While this beautifully rendered translation includes a broad spectrum of Marti's works, some not previously translated, his descriptions of America in the latter half ot the nineteenth century are by themselves sufficient reason to buy this book.Marti, coming from a different culture, sees things about America that we do not, and he describes them with a passion lacking in the reportage of his North American contemporaries.

A classic! The best anthology of Martí in English

Here at last--in English--is a comprehensive selection of Martí's writing, translated by a masterful hand. It leaves all other attempts at this task far behind. Esther Allen meets the challenges of Martí's exuberant and complex style with extraordinary success. This book will be a landmark text for college courses on Martí as a Latin American and Latino writer, and is an excellent introduction for the general public. Bravo to all involved in this effort to bring Martí to American readers!

Open your eyes

The Cuban character, as it turns out, is not so much a development of the post-Castro trauma in which so many Cuban-Americans live but rather the expression of a deep and inescapable sense of exile. In this gorgeous, captivating translation of Marti's writings--some appearing in English for the first time--this 19th century journalist and poet is truly the epic voice of the Cuban people, articulating their pathos and homesickness in his dispatches from New York, putting his finger into the wounds of their suffered humanity in his poetry and travelogues. An elegant, profound picture of the Cuban soul, long before the Ilan Gonzalez events cast such an unfriendly light upon it.