J. M. Cohen (1903–1989)

A book I treasure. For the first half of the 20th century it classifies epochs by style, defining them as symbolism, romanticism, etc. and covers poetry in both English and many European languages.

Where he quotes, the poetry is given in the original language, with a pony at the bottom. I believe his specialty is spanish, but he quotes Spanish, French, Italian, German and Russian. Both American and UK poets are included.

My paperback copy was worn thin, and I was happy to find a hardcover, show more still available. It was published in the sixties. It is a course in comparative literature all by itself, and is my favorite book of criticism for poetry, as is [How Fiction Works] for fiction. show less

A lively selection of contemporary Cuban writing showing many influences - Kafka, Eliot and Apollinaire among them - but, above all, it introduces us to a new generation of writers who - irrespective of political colouration - are, in their new-found sense of nationhood, as exciting as any in the world.

This book was published in 1967, so "new Cuba" refers to the first 5 or so years after the revolution. Overall, I was not overly impressed with the stories. Not knowing much about Cuban literature, especially after the revolution, I recognized only two names: Guillermo Cabrera Infante and Virgilio Pinera, the others I googled, learned that some eventually left Cuba, others received Cuban literary awards, and there was at least one suicide. It might be that many of these stories are early show more ones from the various authors' oeuvres, and maybe not even the best of what they have written. Only 2 stories stood out for me: Pinera's "The Drogee" because of it's weirdness and Ana Maria Simo's "A Deathly Sameness" and her "Growth of the Plant" which seems to have been magical realism before that was a thing [100 years of Solitude was published the same year this collection was published].
Contains:
"The Execution" by Calvert Casey
"Two Poems" by Roberto Fernandez Retamar
"The Cat's Second Death" by Onelio Jorge Cardoso
"The Childhood of William Blake" by Heberto Padilla
"The Lucky Chance" by Calvert Casey
"Two Poems" by Fayad Jamis
"The Drogee" by Virgilio Pinera
"Three Poems from 'The book of Heroes'" by Pablo Armando Fernandez
"Mister Charles" by Humberto Arenal
"Your Name" by Luis Marre
"The Discovery" by Anton Arrufat
"Cain's Mangoes, A Play in One Act" by Abelardo Estorino
A Deathly Sameness" by Ana Maria Simo
"Illuminations" by Jose Alvarez Baragano
"A Horrible Man" by Rogelio Llopis
"A Sparrows' Nest in the Awning" by Guillermo Cabrera Infante
"Likeness" by Rolando Rigali
"The Cripple" by Jesus Diaz Rodriguez
"Arte poetica" by Domingo Alfonso
"Santa Rita's Holy Water" by Luis Aguera
"Four in a Jeep" Reynaldo Gonzalez
"Growth of the Plant" by Ana Maria Simo
extracts from Fidel Castro's "Words to the Intellectuals". show less

I find it almost impossible to discard any dictionary of quotations. This is a handsome and rather hip one with a quote from Tom Stoppard on the front page flap.