José Martí Reader: Writings on the Americas
Edited by Deborah Shnookal and Mirta Muñiz,
Ocean Press, 2007
THIS IS AN excellent addition to any Latin American collection, notable if anything for highlighting the close relationship between progressive political ideas and literature in Martí’s work. Like so many revolutionaries, he was also dedicated to literary ideals: a theme that emerges clearly from this volume. This is perhaps at its clearest in his essays and articles, some fine examples of which are included in this reader. The book is also timely for reminding us how figures such as Martí anticipated the later concerns about US domination of so many Latin American revolutionaries, and how Cuban patriotism belongs more to this particular cause than any other. – GO’T