Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Decimonónica
Volume
10
Issue
1
Publisher
Decimonónica
Publication Date
2013
First Page
78
Last Page
96
Abstract
Cuban poet José María Heredia’s life—1803-1839—had all the trappings of unsolicited Romantic heroism. Exiled from Cuba in 1823 for alleged participation in a revolutionary plot against the Spanish colonial government, Heredia spent the rest of his life roaming through the United States and Mexico battling infirmity, isolation, and financial destitution. But while Heredia’s poetry, together with his premature death at age 35, made him an icon of an entire generation of Latin American literati and the primogenitor of a long line of Cuban poet-martyrs (Luciani), one suspects that he might have traded it all for the opportunity to return to the island. Indeed, although Heredia returned to Cuba for a brief visit in late 1836 and early 1837, much of his poetry can be read as an extended expression of nostalgia for the lost homeland (Chacón y Calvo 115).
Recommended Citation
Glover, Adam, "Crisis and Exile: On José María Heredia’s Romanticism" (2013). Decimonónica. Paper 198.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/decimononica/198