Literature of Nicaragua
Encyclopedia
Nicaraguan literature can be traced to pre-Columbian
times with the myths and oral literature
that formed the cosmogonic view of the world that indigenous people had. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature. The literature of Nicaragua
has had many important literary figures in the Spanish language with internationally prominent writers such as Rubén Darío
, who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua. He is referred to as the "Father of Modernism" for leading the modernismo
literary movement at the end of the 19th century. Other important literary figures include Salomón de la Selva
, Carlos Martínez Rivas
, Pablo Antonio Cuadra
, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Manolo Cuadra Vega, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello, Ernesto Cardenal
, Sergio Ramírez Mercado, Gioconda Belli
, José Coronel Urtecho
, Alfonso Cortés
, Julio Valle Castillo
, and Claribel Alegría
, among others.
is a satirical drama and was the first literary work of post-Columbian Nicaragua. It is regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece combining music, dance and theater. The theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest indigenous theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere. It was passed down orally for many centuries until it was finally written down and published into a book in 1942.
A large portion of revolutionary
leaders were also writers who had published works, two of the most notable include current President Daniel Ortega
and co-founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
, Tomás Borge.
literary movement was a Spanish-American literary movement, best exemplified by Nicaraguan Rubén Darío
, who is respectfully referred to as the "Father of Modernism". In the late 19th century, Modernismo emerged, a poetic movement whose recapitulation was a blending of three European currents: Romanticism
, Symbolism
and especially Parnassianism. Inner passions, visions, harmonies and rhythms are expressed in a rich, highly stylized verbal music. This movement was of great influence in the whole Spanish-speaking world (including the Philippines
), finding a temporary vogue also among the Generación del 98
in Spain, which posited various reactions to its perceived aestheticism
.
Modernismo was the first Latin American literary movement to influence literary culture outside of the region, and was also the first truly Latin American literature
, in that national differences were no longer so much at issue. Though Modernismo itself is often seen as aestheticist and anti-political, some poets and essayists, introduced compelling critiques of the contemporary social order and particularly the plight of Latin America's indigenous peoples.
laureate Pablo Neruda
, and followed by such poets as the Nicaragua's Ernesto Cardenal
.
between 1927 and 1929, the movement was led by the Nicaraguan poet José Coronel Urtecho
. According to literary manifests which were published in 1931, one of Coronel's objectives were to "initiate a struggle to get the public attention through artistic expressions, intellectual scandal, and aggressive criticism". The Vanguardia literary movement reflected several European movements, especially Surrealism
. Vanguardia instituted a radical search for new, daring, confrontational themes and shockingly novel forms.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
times with the myths and oral literature
Oral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
that formed the cosmogonic view of the world that indigenous people had. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature. The literature of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
has had many important literary figures in the Spanish language with internationally prominent writers such as Rubén Darío
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento , known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo that flourished at the end of the 19th century...
, who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua. He is referred to as the "Father of Modernism" for leading the modernismo
Modernismo
Modernismo is Spanish for modernism, however the term Modernism also indicates a more specific art movement:* Modernismo refers to a Spanish-American literary movement, best exemplified by Rubén Darío...
literary movement at the end of the 19th century. Other important literary figures include Salomón de la Selva
Salomón de la Selva
Salomón de la Selva born in León Nicaragua on March 20, 1893 and died in Paris, France on February 5, 1959 was a Nicaraguan poet and honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language.-Biography:...
, Carlos Martínez Rivas
Carlos Martinez Rivas
Carlos Martínez Rivas is a Nicaraguan poet most famous for his poem "El paraíso recobrado" , a love poem first published in 1944.-Early years and time in Spain:...
, Pablo Antonio Cuadra
Pablo Antonio Cuadra
Pablo Antonio Cuadra was a Nicaraguan essayist, art and literary critic, playwright, graphic artist and one of the most famous poets of Nicaragua.-Early life and career:...
, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Manolo Cuadra Vega, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello, Ernesto Cardenal
Ernesto Cardenal
Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal Martínez is a Nicaraguan Catholic priest and was one of the most famous liberation theologians of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, a party he has since left. From 1979 to 1987 he served as Nicaragua's first culture minister. He is also famous as a poet...
, Sergio Ramírez Mercado, Gioconda Belli
Gioconda Belli
Gioconda Belli is an author, novelist and renowned Nicaraguan poet.-Early life:Gioconda Belli, of Northern Italian descent, was an active participant in the Sandinista struggle against the Somoza dictatorship, and her work for the movement led to her being forced into exile in Mexico in 1975...
, José Coronel Urtecho
José Coronel Urtecho
José Coronel Urtecho was a Nicaraguan poet, translator, essayist, critic, narrator, playwright, diplomat and historian. He has been described as "the most influential Nicaraguan thinker of the twentieth century"...
, Alfonso Cortés
Alfonso Cortés
Alfonso Cortés was a Nicaraguan poet. He is often referred to as the most important poet after Rubén Darío. Before his death, he often said he was "less important than Darío, but more profound".-Early life:...
, Julio Valle Castillo
Julio Valle Castillo
Julio Valle Castillo , was born in Masaya, Nicaragua. He is a poet, novelist, painter, essayist, and a critic of literature and art.-Early life and career:...
, and Claribel Alegría
Claribel Alegría
Clara Isabel Alegría Vides is a Nicaraguan poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who was a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. She writes under the pseudonym Claribel Alegría.-Early life:...
, among others.
History
El GüegüenseEl Güegüense
El Güegüense is a satirical drama and was the first literary work of post-Columbian Nicaragua. It is regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece combining music, dance and theater...
is a satirical drama and was the first literary work of post-Columbian Nicaragua. It is regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece combining music, dance and theater. The theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest indigenous theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere. It was passed down orally for many centuries until it was finally written down and published into a book in 1942.
A large portion of revolutionary
Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution encompasses the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front which led to the violent ousting of that dictatorship in 1979, and the...
leaders were also writers who had published works, two of the most notable include current President Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
and co-founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
, Tomás Borge.
Modernismo
The ModernismoModernismo
Modernismo is Spanish for modernism, however the term Modernism also indicates a more specific art movement:* Modernismo refers to a Spanish-American literary movement, best exemplified by Rubén Darío...
literary movement was a Spanish-American literary movement, best exemplified by Nicaraguan Rubén Darío
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento , known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo that flourished at the end of the 19th century...
, who is respectfully referred to as the "Father of Modernism". In the late 19th century, Modernismo emerged, a poetic movement whose recapitulation was a blending of three European currents: Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and especially Parnassianism. Inner passions, visions, harmonies and rhythms are expressed in a rich, highly stylized verbal music. This movement was of great influence in the whole Spanish-speaking world (including the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
), finding a temporary vogue also among the Generación del 98
Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the state of Spain...
in Spain, which posited various reactions to its perceived aestheticism
Aestheticism
Aestheticism was a 19th century European art movement that emphasized aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design...
.
Modernismo was the first Latin American literary movement to influence literary culture outside of the region, and was also the first truly Latin American literature
Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
, in that national differences were no longer so much at issue. Though Modernismo itself is often seen as aestheticist and anti-political, some poets and essayists, introduced compelling critiques of the contemporary social order and particularly the plight of Latin America's indigenous peoples.
Poetry after Modernismo
Twentieth-century poetry in Nicaragua has often expressed political commitment, particularly given the model provided by Chilean NobelNobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, and followed by such poets as the Nicaragua's Ernesto Cardenal
Ernesto Cardenal
Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal Martínez is a Nicaraguan Catholic priest and was one of the most famous liberation theologians of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, a party he has since left. From 1979 to 1987 he served as Nicaragua's first culture minister. He is also famous as a poet...
.
The Vanguardia
The Vanguardia was a literary movement that started in Granada, NicaraguaGranada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...
between 1927 and 1929, the movement was led by the Nicaraguan poet José Coronel Urtecho
José Coronel Urtecho
José Coronel Urtecho was a Nicaraguan poet, translator, essayist, critic, narrator, playwright, diplomat and historian. He has been described as "the most influential Nicaraguan thinker of the twentieth century"...
. According to literary manifests which were published in 1931, one of Coronel's objectives were to "initiate a struggle to get the public attention through artistic expressions, intellectual scandal, and aggressive criticism". The Vanguardia literary movement reflected several European movements, especially Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. Vanguardia instituted a radical search for new, daring, confrontational themes and shockingly novel forms.
See also
- List of Nicaraguan writers
- Latin American literatureLatin American literatureLatin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
- Culture of NicaraguaCulture of NicaraguaBritish possessions. The people of Nicaragua are mostly mestizos, and Spanish is invariably their first language. Nicaraguans are prone to refer to themselves as Nicas, Nicoyas & Pinoleros.-Culture:...
- List of books and films about Nicaragua
External links
- Nicaraguan Literature
- MarcaAcme Nicaragua Art, Literature and Culture