Modernismo Modernity and the Development of Spanish American Literature

<p><b>A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book</b></p> <p><i>Modernismo</i> arose in Spanish American literature as a confrontation with and a response to modernizing forces that were transforming Spanish American society in the later nineteenth century. In this book Cathy L. Jrade undertakes a full exploration of the modernista project and shows how it provided a foundation for trends and movements that have continued to shape literary production in Spanish America throughout the twentieth century.</p> <p>Jrade opens with a systematic consideration of the development of <i>modernismo</i> and then proceeds with detailed analyses of works-poetry narrative and essays-that typified and altered the movement's course. In this way she situates the writing of key authors such as Rubén Darío José Martí and Leopoldo Lugones within the overall <i>modernista</i> project and traces modernismo's influence on subsequent generations of writers.</p> <p>Jrade's analysis reclaims the power of the visionary stance taken by these creative intellectuals. She firmly abolishes any lingering tendency to associate <i>modernismo</i> with affectation and effete elegance revealing instead how the <i>modernistas</i>' new literary language expressed their profound political and epistemological concerns.</p>