Product Description
Relato excepcional del gran escritor cubano José Martí. Una de las grandes piezas literarias de la América hispana. La historia aborda la solidaridad, el acto de compartir y el amor a los semejantes. Es el volumen No 4 de la magnífica colección Tesoros Literarios para Niños y Jóvenes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Beautiful book!
Este es el libro clasico mas bello para ninos. Era mi poema preferido cuando era nina. Ahora se lo leo a mi hija y todavia se me aguan los ojos al leerlo. Trasmite una gran ensenanza y sensibilidad. Ensena al nino a ayudar al projimo y a los mas necesitados. Lo recomiendo!

At seventy, I still Read it Over and Over
One of the few works of literature that brings tears to my eyes every time I open the book.

Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir

My Childhood Poem
My favorite aunt, Aunt Martha entertained me as a toddler with this poem for the four short years I knew her.It was not until I stumbled across it at the age of 20 while doing research in college that I remembered how I loved this poem.This book allows me to beautifully share this poem with my child, the first member of my family born outside of Cuba or Spain.I am thrilled to have found it in a form a child will readily enjoy - great illustrations, I hope my daughter will grow to enjoy the beauty of the poetry through the years.

i liked the book because it talks about poetry.
i like the book becouse it talks about the different things that can happen to you inlifeand also is poetry ... Read more

Product Description
José Martí (1853-1895) is the most renowned politicaland literary figure in the history of Cuba. A poet, essayist, orator,statesman, abolitionist, and the martyred revolutionary leader ofCuba's fight for independence from Spain, Martí lived in exilein New York for most of his adult life, earning his living as aforeign correspondent. Throughout the 1880s and early 1890s,Martí's were the eyes through which much of Latin America sawthe United States. His impassioned, kaleidoscopic evocations of thatperiod in U.S. history, the assassination of James Garfield, theopening of the Brooklyn Bridge, the execution of the Chicagoanarchists, the lynching of the Italians in New Orleans, and muchmore, bring it rushing back to life.

Organized chronologically,this collection begins with his early writings, including a thunderingaccount of his political imprisonment in Cuba at age sixteen. Themiddle section focuses on his journalism, which offers an image of theUnited States in the nineteenth century, its way of life and system ofgovernment, that rivals anything written by de Tocqueville, Dickens,Trollope, or any other European commentator. Including generousselections of his poetry and private notebooks, the book concludeswith his astonishing, hallucinatory final masterpiece, "War Diaries",never before translated into English. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

How would Marti's reaction be upon beholding what Cuba has become
Marti, also known to decent Cubans as "The Apostle," became one of Latin America's icons of classic literature, war patriot, compassionate human being, poet, brilliant writer and journalist; A man of the times, he is venerated today by every thoughtful Cubano who embraces freedom, democracy, and human dignity.
I wish I knew what his reaction would be if he sees our beloved country being raped, physically and morally destroyed, and its flag desecrated by a band of atrocious murderers, megalomaniacs and hatemongers. Most certainly he'll experience anger, shame, or a wind that blows out the lamp of his powerful mind.

Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir.

A Complete Work!!!
This collection of Marti's essays and letters are excellent reading for Marti scholars and beginners alike.The works are in chronological order and cover the most pivotal periods of Marti's life.Both of Marti's strongest qualities, the poet and the freedom fighter, are represented with conviction.This book is a definite must read for anyone looking to explore the mind one of the greatest literary figures of all time.

A must for students of American history
Marti was a prodigy, a genius, yet he is little known in the U.S. either for his prose or poetry.Those who have heard of him may associate him with Radio Marti or know him as a Cuban revolutionary.

While this beautifully rendered translation includes a broad spectrum of Marti's works, some not previously translated, his descriptions of America in the latter half ot the nineteenth century are by themselves sufficient reason to buy this book.

Marti, coming from a different culture, sees things about America that we do not, and he describes them with a passion lacking in the reportage of his North American contemporaries.

Aclassic!The best anthology of Martí in English
Here at last--in English--is a comprehensive selection of Martí's writing, translated by a masterful hand. It leaves all other attempts at this task far behind. Esther Allen meets the challenges of Martí's exuberant and complex style with extraordinary success. This book will be a landmark text for college courses on Martí as a Latin American and Latino writer, and is an excellent introduction for the general public. Bravo to all involved in this effort to bring Martí to American readers!

Open your eyes
The Cuban character, as it turns out, is not so much a development of the post-Castro trauma in which so many Cuban-Americans live but rather the expression of a deep and inescapable sense of exile. In this gorgeous, captivating translation of Marti's writings--some appearing in English for the first time--this 19th century journalist and poet is truly the epic voice of the Cuban people, articulating their pathos and homesickness in his dispatches from New York, putting his finger into the wounds of their suffered humanity in his poetry and travelogues. An elegant, profound picture of the Cuban soul, long before the Ilan Gonzalez events cast such an unfriendly light upon it. ... Read more

Product Description
Nuestra América es un vasto programa literario que Martí describe en una carta a su amigo Manuel Mercado (también presente en este volumen). El libro se divide en varios apartados relaciones con diferentes visiones de América, y abarca cuestiones políticas relativas al norte y al sur del continente, crónicas culturales y literarias y el ensayo homónimo hoy considerado un texto base en las reflexiones identitarias de Latinoamérica. Los textos en él incluidos son un material de referencia para entender los movimientos independentistas de la Cuba del siglo XIX. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first bilingual edition of the nineteenth century Cuban literary master's classic book of poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Jose Marti's Versos Sencillos
Arrived promptly and in mint condition. Verses as haunting and thrilling as when we heard them for the first time as children. Beautiful, an excellent purchase.

thanks
Thanks, the seller sent the item right away in the condition it stated to be in

How would Marti's reaction be upon beholding what Cuba has become
Marti, also known to decent Cubans as "The Apostle", became one of Latin America's icons of classic literature, war patriot, compassionate human being, brilliant writer and journalist.

A man of the times, he's venerated today by every thoughtful Cubano who embraces freedom, democracy, and human dignity.

I wish I knew what his reaction would be if he sees our beloved country being raped, physically and morally destroyed, and its flag desecrated by a band of atrocious murdederers, megalomaniacs and hatemongers.

Most certainly he'll experience anger, shame, or a wind that blows out the lamp of his powerful mind.

Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir

An important achievement in Cuban literature
"Simple Verses" is a collection of poems by Jose Marti (1853-1895), the 19th century Cuban poet and revolutionary who spent many years in exile in the United States. This is a bilingual edition, with the Spanish originals and English versions on facing pages. The translation into English is by Manuel A. Tellechea. Tellechea also contributes an excellent introduction which includes fascinating biographical information about Marti. The poems are untitled; each is assigned a Roman numeral.

Marti writes about romance, nature, family, and other subjects. Many of his poems are political and revolutionary in nature: he condemns Spanish colonial violence in Cuba, expresses his anti-slavery position, and identifies with the oppressed: "With the earth's poor everywhere, / I shall cast my lot" (poem III). In his marriage of poetry with politics and social justice, Marti foreshadows many of Latin America's 20th century poets: Gioconda Belli of Nicaragua, Roberto Sosa of Honduras, Juan Gelman of Argentina, and others, especially especially Pablo Neruda of Chile.

Many of Marti's poems appear to be autobiographical in nature. Some of his poems are dark and macabre in tone, others prophetic and even ecstatic. He sometimes reflects on his own poetic work: "My verse is like a dagger / At whose hilt a flower grows" (poem V). His best work, as interpreted by Tellechea, has a compelling freshness and beauty.

I only found one aspect of the book troublesome. Most of Marti's poems are written in four line stanzas, and in each poem he generally sticks to a constant rhyme scheme from stanza to stanza: ABBA or ABAB. But in his English versions, Tellechea sometimes mixes up the ABBA and ABAB schemes within poems, without any logical pattern and contradictory to Marti's originals; I found these switches very distracting.

Still, this is an excellent volume by a significant figure in Latin American literary history. And the rhyme scheme issue aside, I commend and thank Tellechea for making these "Simple Verses" available in English.

A founder of Modernism
Although Marti is known as the apostle of the Cuban revolution against Spain, what is not usually known was that he was a man of great heart and fully committed to what is best in the human spirit. It is not usually known that some Cubans criticized him because while those in the field were spilling their blood on the ground the others, including Marti, were only raising funds and politicking in the safety of the tobacco factories in the US. Marti galloped in his white horse toward the Spanish formations during his first encounter after the landing. He was shot in the heart and died in an act of self inmolation.

Jose Marti was always concerned with the poor, the downtrodden and all cases of inhumanity. He has been accused of communist leanings which is probably correct and was used effectively by Fidel Castro. Many of us who have known him long rather think of him as a Christian Socialist.

Marti left a large body of literature behind him. While in the US he met many of our literary figures and was very active in Journalism. Along with Ruben Dario and a few others he was a precursor of Modernism which discarded previous affected and unnatural poetic forms in favor of simpler direct and concised expressions of something deeply felt. When Marti wrote Versos Sencillos he meant exactly that. Some of his verses found their way into the lyrics of Guantanamera. They have a simple and direct beauty. ... Read more

Product Description
Publicación mensual de recreo e instrucción dedicada a los niños de América. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

How would Marti's reaction be upon beholding what Cuba has become
Marti, also known to decent Cubans as "The Apostle," became one of Latin America's icons of classic literature, war patriot, compassione human being, poet, brilliant writer and journalist:

A man of the times, he is venerated today by every thoughtful Cubano who embraces freedom, democracy, and human dignity.

I wish I knew what his reaction would be if he sees our beloved country being raped, physically and morally destroyed, and its flag desecrated by a band of atrocious murderers, megalomaniacs and hatemongers.

Most certainly he'll experience anger, shame, or a wind that blows out the lamp of his powerful mind.

Andrew J. Rodriguez
Award-winning author: "Adios, Havana," a Memoir

Too small to be easy to read
I did not check the content yet since it is for a girl birthay present, but it is possible a condensed edition, because the others "La Edad de Oro" that I knew were a lot bigger books. ... Read more

Product Description
La literatura de Jose Marti es unica.En la "Edad deOro," usted podra apreciar el significado de un poeta y escritor unicoen su tiempo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

It's an educational children's book
This book is soo good. I grew up on it as a child in Cuba and it's just as I remember it. Marti was not only a genius but loved children. Adults can benefit from reading the book. It's thought provoking.

A beautiful book by the world's finest poet.
Jose Marti was an amazing man. Poet, writer, revolutionary hero - hispoetry is heartbreakingly beautiful and his essays on human dignity andcourage eye-opening. It's only a shame that most Americans cannotunderstand his words.

Anyone who can understand Spanish and hasn't readthis amazing little book is truly missing out.

It's time that someonetranslated this treasure into other languages so much more of the world canlearn to cherish it.

A life-changing book
"La Edad de Oro" is a classic book for all Cuban children; imagine George Washington having edited and written a magazine for children and collecting its few issues in one volume. During his exile, the Cuban patriot and author Jose Marti edited a children's magazine in New York. He included classic stories he had translated from other languages, his own poetry and articles dealing with history or current events. A fighter for Cuba's independence in the 19th century, Marti's perspective was that of an anti-colonialist and champion of justice. That being said, it's not difficult to see why this would be a life-changing book for many children (as Marti hoped it would. After all, he was concentrating on children as a way of turning out future adults who would also champion liberty and justice). Some of the stories have a decidedly Victorian outlook but so many are full of a fire for justice that could politicize young readers. His account of the conquest of the Am! ! ericas by the Spanish is unforgettable. I first read this book in its original Spanish version when I was five or six and it changed me forever. Call me a bleeding-heart liberal, a card-carrying pinko...whatever...but I believe so many of the causes I'm interested in (anti-nukes, social justice, anti-poverty, etc.) came as a result of Marti's having opened my eyes to racism, capitalism, colonialism and a yearning for liberty when I was young. And my parents thought they were giving me a nice little storybook! He surrounded his stories about freedom with stories about magic fish and poems about a girl's little pink shoes with the intention of turning out a generation of socially conscious Cuban kids. What a genius! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Focusing on a period of history rocked by four armed movements, Lillian Guerra traces the origins of Cubans' struggles to determine the meaning of their identity and the character of the state, from Cuba's last war of independence in 1895 to the consolidation of U.S. neocolonial hegemony in 1921. Guerra argues that political violence and competing interpretations of the "social unity" proposed by Cuba's revolutionary patriot, Jos© Mart­, reveal conflicting visions of the nation--visions that differ in their ideological radicalism and in how they cast Cuba's relationship with the United States.

As Guerra explains, some nationalists supported incorporating foreign investment and values, while others sought social change through the application of an authoritarian model of electoral politics; still others sought a democratic government with social and economic justice. But for all factions, the image of Mart­ became the principal means by which Cubans attacked, policed, and discredited one another to preserve their own vision over others'. Guerra's examination demonstrates how competing historical memories and battles for control of a weak state explain why polarity, rather than consensus on the idea of the "nation" and the character of the Cuban state, came to define Cuban politics throughout the twentieth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A nice, broad look at Cuba in the wake of Marti's demise
I read this book as a refresher before starting a Master's program in Latin American studies.I was impressed by the breadth of the material - covering issues of race, gender, labor movements, political violence, and more in the years leading into Cuban independence, through the early republic.

For those wanting some reading material that focuses more on Marti himself, you'd be advised to look elsewhere, as Marti is just tangentially related to the vast majority of the book.That would probably be my biggest criticism:the book successfully strives to connect Marti's legacy to several aspects of post-independence Cuba, but it really just amounts to a line or two and doesn't really demonstrate Marti's lingering influence in a meaningful way.

That said, it's a great overview, and I'd recommend it, along with Ada Ferrer's Insurgent Cuba, to anyone who wants to learn more about late-19th/early 20th century Cuba. ... Read more

Product Description
El propio Jose Marti, al hablar de algunos grandes, habia anticipado su epitafio. Cuando murio Emerson, escribio este juicio, que merece inscribirse en su tumba: ""En el fue enteramente digno el ser humano"".Prologo: Roberto Fernandez Retamar ... Read more

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Brings together essays on literature, the plastic arts, theater, and music, which stand with the best of modern criticism.

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Customer Reviews (3)

I repeat Marti was a revolutionary but not a Marxist
Schnookal, Deborah and Mirta Muniz (editors) 2007 Jose Marti Reader: Writings on the Americas. Ocean Press. Melbourne, New York, LondonISBN-10 1920888748 ISBN-13 978-1920888749 The first thing to remember is that Jose Marti (accent on the last syllable) was not a Marxist, since although he believed in physical battle for freedom, he advocated remedial humane change.Thus, Marti never should be confused with radical mad murders who, saying they are revolutionaries, wish and act to exterminate all their enemies. Marti was the intellectual behind the last Cuban war of independence and died in battle leading it.


I repeat Marti was a revolutionary but not a Marxist. Martí defined this well in 1883 when he said (see page 47 of this volume), in Spanish of course: "Look at this large hall, Karl Marx is dead. He deserves to be honored for declaring himself on the side of the weak. But the virtuous man is not the one who points out the damage and burns with generous anxiety to put it right; he is the one who teaches a gentle amendment to the injury.The task of setting men in opposition against men is frightening.The compulsory brutalization of men for the profit of others stirs anger. But an outlet must be found for this anger before it overflows and terrifies. " Martí died, leading in battle twelve years later; worldwide in the next century perhaps a hundred million have died because this warning went unheeded.

Larry Daley

Good but not great
Jose Marti is a popular figure and it is beneficial to have various translations of his work available. This reader is useful but has some errors in the introduction and in the translations. The Selected Writings by Penguin in a better way to get acquainted with Marti's work.

Un Hombre Sincero......
"A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow".

You may recognize these words. They are the English translation of the first verse of "Guantanamera", a beautiful and very popular Cuban song. This was orignally a poem written by Jose Marti which you will find in it's entirety among his other eloquent and inspiring works in the "Jose Marti Reader...Writings On The Americas".

If you have never read the words of Marti before, this is an excellent book to start with. Jose Marti, was the brillant and outspoken leader of Cuba's War of Independence against Spain. But he was so much more than that. He was a compassionatehumanitarian, a spokesman for Latin America,a highly respected jouranlist, an inspiring teacher, and an eloquent poet.

His words and most important works, translated beautifully, are compiled in this wonderful book through his essays, speeches, newspaper articles, Verses and his personal letters,which are especially touching. He lived from 1853(born in Havana) and died while practically single handedly leading the fight against Spain in 1895.

The book is sectioned into three chronogical parts.Most of these works were written during his exile, while living in New York. He was the eyes and voice for most Cubans and Latin Americans. His "Writings On The Americas", "Letters" and "Verse". He writes in 1885 about the unfair treament of "Indians in the United States", he was there for the "Dedication of the Statue of Liberty" and reminds us of the freedoms we here in America take so much for granted, and what it's like not to know these freedoms. He writes of great men like San Martin, Simon Bolivar, and counts Harriet Beecher Stowe among the people he most admired. His letters, most especially those to his family, tell us what a caring and loving man he was. And his verses so beautifully refelct his views on life, you can just get lost
in them.

This is not what I would call a light read,admitedly, there were
occassions where I had to reread some thoughts to truly understand what he was saying, but I found it to be absolutely inspiring and thought provoking.

Marti was a man who said,,"There are no races: there are only the various
modifictions of man in details of form and habits....." In every word he
writes his passion for his country and the human race is evident.

enjoy this wonderful book.....Laurie

For a somewhat lighter look at the beautiful people and country side of Cuba check out:
Honey for Oshun (Miel Para Oshun) ... Read more

Product Description
Jose Marti, Cuban national hero, was one of Latin America's most influential literary and political figures.There is currently no introductory overview to his complex body of works.Jose Marti: An Introduction offers such an introduction to Marti's most pertinent, enduring ideas, exploring his writing on race, gender, the relationship between Cuba and the U.S., and issues of displacement and bilingualism.The writing is accessible on the undergraduate level, yet Montero does not oversimplify ambiguities and contradictions of Marti's work and life.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Jose Marti Made Easy
As a well-assimilated Latina, I grew up hearing about Jose Marti as the father of Cuban independence, a poet, a revolutionary, a hero in battle, and yet not really understanding his place in the larger history of Latin American and this hemisphere.While I knew about his political life and some of his works, until reading this book, I truly did not know the level of impact Marti had on race, gender, bicultural and other social issues. This book pulled me in quickly.Montero makes Marti's 20th century ideas and writings on complex issues easily accessible and relevant to the 21st century mind.While this book will certainly encourage interesting dialogue among academics and long-time students of Marti and of Latino literary/political figures and history, its value for me has been to share in Montero's connection and understanding of Marti, and thus awaken and reintroduce me to his life, ideas and works.Highly recommend it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

My Freind PEPE!
Complete poetries, of the Cuban apostle Jose Julian Marti Perez. If you want an authentic complete book concerning his poetry buy this one in Spanish, the way he wrote it himself. This is a beautiful book printed in the Republic of Argentina to have and read.The apostle liked to drink gin, and was inspired by the beautiful women who he met and courted (apparently during his intimate social hours he made an impression on all them), most of his poetry is dedicated to them.Now I know why they label him a womanizer! To me, Pepe was, still, and always be a great man in our rich Cuban culture. ... Read more

Product Description
El presente volumen comprende poemas de José Martí escritos durante su juventud hasta aquellos que concibió en los últimos días de su vida. ... Read more

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Versos Libres (Textos Hispanicos Modernos, 3) by Jose Marti (edited by Ivan A. Schulman). 1970 paperback published by Editorial Labor. Text in Spanish. ... Read more

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Ensayo biográfico ... Read more