Identity, Memory, and Diaspora

Voices of Cuban-American Artists, Writers, and Philosophers

Edited by Jorge J. E. Gracia, Lynette M. F. Bosch, and Isabel Alvarez Borland

Subjects: Philosophy, Latin American Studies, Hispanic Studies, Ethnicity, Art
Series: SUNY series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture
Paperback : 9780791473184, 296 pages, January 2009
Hardcover : 9780791473177, 296 pages, February 2008

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Table of contents

Preface
Jorge J. E. Gracia

The Cuban Diaspora: A Brief Chronology

Part I. The Artists
Lynette M. F. Bosch

Identities
Baruj Salinas
A Sense of Place
Humberto Calzada
Art on Art
Emilio Falero
The Juggler
María Brito
If Quebec Were in the Tropics
Mario Bencomo
The Human Condition
Arturo Rodríguez
For the Children
Demi
A Search for Unity
Juan Carlos Llera
Landscapes of the Mind
Alberto Rey

 

The Artists' Work
Flow Up
Fuji-San
Baruj Salinas
Island in Crisis
Humberto Calzada
Across
Emilio Falero
Self-portrait as a Swan
María Brito
If Quebec Were in the Tropics II 
Mario Bencomo
Untitled
Arturo Rodríguez 
An Artist's First Painting
Demi 
Fear of Flight
Juan Carlos Llera 
Brown Trout—Hosmer Creek
Alberto Rey

 

Part II. The Writers
Isabel Alvarez Borland

Thinking in Images
Carlos Eire
What Sounds Good Also Rings True
Gustavo Pérez Firmat
A Baratan Experience
Pablo Medina
Writing Without Masks
Virgil Suárez
Escaping the Humors
Roberto Fernández
Crossing the Crest of Forgetting
Ana Menéndez

 

The Writers' Work
Treinta y Cinco
Carlos Eire
Fire in May
Tristeza de mamá
Gustavo Pérez Firmat
Driving Home
Rites of Spring
Russian Doll
Mirage
The Poet as an Old Man
Pablo Medina 
The Seed Collector
The Trouble with Frogs
Virgil Suárez
Nellie
Roberto Fernández
Travelling Fools
Ana Menéndez

 

Part III. The Philosophers
Jorge J. E. Gracia

Cuban, Hispanic, and Latina?
Ofelia Schutte
The Search for Identity Outside Miami
Jorge J. E. Gracia
Cuban American or Latin American?
Oscar Martí
Universalism or Particularism?
Ernesto Sosa

 

The Philosophers' Work
Identities in Tension
Ofelia Schutte
                                     
Ethnic Identity
Jorge J. E. Gracia

Breaking with the Past                              
Oscar Martí
Philosophy, the History of Philosophy, and Science                                       
Ernesto Sosa

 

Bibliography
About the Editors
Index 

Offers a detailed picture of the lives of Cuban Americans through interviews with artists, writers, and philosophers.

Description

This fascinating volume contains interviews with nineteen prominent Cuban-American artists, writers, and philosophers who tell their stories and share what they consider important for understanding their work. Struggling with issues of Cuban-American identity in particular and social identity in general, they explore such questions as how they see themselves, how they have dealt with the diaspora and their memories, what they have done to find a proper place in their adopted country, and how their work has been influenced by the experience. Their answers reveal different perspectives on art, literature, and philosophy, and the different challenges encountered personally and professionally. The interviews are gathered into three groups: nine artists, six writers, and four philosophers. An introductory essay for each group is included, and the interviews are accompanied by brief biographical notes, along with samples of the work of those interviewed.

Jorge J. E. Gracia is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Chair in Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. His many books include Race or Ethnicity? On Black and Latino Identity. Lynette M. F. Bosch is Professor of Art History at SUNY College at Geneseo and author of Cuban-American Art in Miami: Exile, Identity and the Neo-Baroque. Isabel Alvarez Borland is Monsignor Edward G. Murray Professor of Arts and Humanities at the College of the Holy Cross and author of Cuban-American Literature of Exile: From Person to Persona.

Reviews

"In a pleasing innovation, each interview is paired with a sample of the subject's work: stories and poems from the writers, essays from the philosophers, and a section of colour plates for the artists. The issues they discuss—language, the notion of home, the burdens of history and the freedoms of being in a new place—are resonant within the evolving concept of a transnational Caribbean. " — Caribbean Review of Books

"Testifying to the idea that Cuba is a traveling nation, and a long tradition of Cuban art, literature, and philosophical thought is flourishing outside the island, Identity, Memory, and Diaspora provides evidence that refutes the essentialist claim that this nation and its culture are confined within its geographical boundaries. " — Andrea O'Reilly Herrera, editor of Cuba: Idea of a Nation Displaced

"This impressive book provides a solid, insightful, and provocative approach to Cuban-American intellectual and artistic production. It highlights the transnational status of Cuba in a way that no other text of its kind has done. " — Raúl Rubio, Wellesley College