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Arts and Literature of Cuba
16
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.
Sculpture of Nicolás Guillén on the exterior of the house where he was born in Camagüey.