Celebrating the capital city of Cubanness: Havana at 500
13 November 2019, 4:30 pm–5:30 pm

This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Emily Morris
Location
-
103Institute of the Americas51 Gordon SquareLondonWC1H 0PNUnited Kingdom
This anthology is the first collection of short stories from the City of Havana to be published in the UK since the 1990s. It brings together tales from the suffering of the Cuban people in the ‘Special Period’ to the current chaotic life in Havana in the 21st century. They are imaginative fictions, from two generations of Cuban writers, in “times of revolution”: from Eduardo Heras Leon, the well-known man of letters, to a very fresh author, Eduardo Angel Santiesteban, whose captivating story in this anthology demonstrates why he is considered to be the most exciting voice in Cuban young fiction today.
Why study Literature and why are anthologies important? When was the first British anthology of Cuban literature published and why? What do Latin American Studies owe to J. M. Cohen (1903-1989)? All these are important questions that need to be continuously asked and framed.
Jorge Luis Borges once wrote: 'una literatura nacional es algo así como el “diario íntimo” de una nación'. In the same manner, these three books of Cuban literature could be described in English as 'intimate diaries', memorable testimonies of the intellectual life of the Cuban nation. The works in these books were selected on literary merit and are all are worthwhile in helping provide a rough idea of some of the work being done in Cuba from 1959 until today, in the 21st century.
Speaker: Dr Vladimir Smith-Mesa