Arts and Literature of Cuba

Sculpture of Nicolás Guillén on the exterior of the house where he was born in Camagüey.

Guillén followed up his acclaimed debut collection with Sóngoro Cosongo (1931). The poet again employed rhythmic patterns from son and explored themes related to Afro-Cuban life. But the book’s subtitle— Poemas mulatos (“Mulatto Poems”) signaled Guillén’s view that the essence of Cuba was to be found in the merging of black and white cultures. In West Indies Ltd. (1934), Guillén expanded his focus to poor people throughout the Caribbean. The volume marked a turn toward the political: the poet took foreign nations, and especially the United States, to task for economically exploiting the people of the Caribbean.

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Arts and Literature of Cuba