Puerto Rico’s History of Poetry
The literature in Puerto Rico dates back to the era of colonization and conquest. The early settlers used it to describe the land they had discovered and the people who lived there. Their writings give us clues as to what it was like before Columbus.
It wasn’t until the late 19th century when the literary works started to increase in numbers as settlers began to try and capture in words the landscapes and rhythms of their new land. In 1849 the cornerstone of Puerto Rican literature occurred with the publishing of, El Gibaro. This book (partly poetry) was written by Manuel Alonso Pacheco (October 6, 1822 – November 4, 1889). From this some of the most romantic and lyrical poets emerged into the literary scene.
After the invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898, their literature was very rich with poets. One of the leading 20th century poets who captured the urban and rural life in Puerto Rico was Evaristo Ribera Chevremont (February 16, 1890- March 1, 1976). Puerto Ricans have worked to free themselves from the verse that characterized them during the U.S. occupation when many of the poets were defining cultural identity.
The poet Julia de Burgos (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953) fought against this through her poems and began creating poetry about the difficulties in romantic love. She included the difficulties of desire among two people in a society dominated by machismo and Catholicism.
Some of Puerto Rico’s famous poets include Enrique A. Laguerre Velez (May 3, 1906 – June 16, 2005) who was a writer, poet, teacher and critic. His best known works is, La Llamarada and is said to be the most important work of his generation. It tells of the political, social and economic conditions that prevailed on the island.
Another well-known poet, journalist, and playwright was Luis Llorens Torres (May 14, 1876 – June 16, 1944) who is best known for his Puerto Rican poems. His poetry covered beautiful and romantic works that are not only of art but also of love. His best known poem is, Valle de Collores.
Luis Munoz Rivera (July 17, 1859 – November 15, 1916) was a poet, politician and journalist. He is known as one of Puerto Rico’s best lyricist and political poets. He published a book of poems, Tropicales which is known as his most important work.
Luis Pales Matos (March 20, 1898 – February 23, 1959) is the creator of Afro-Antillian poetry. This introduced African rhythms and words into the poems of Puerto Rico. His works, Tuntun de Pasa y Griferia convinced many that he was Puerto Rico’s most important 20th century poet. He created other forms of poetry but they are often forgotten as most know him the best for his negroid and black poetry.
