Literature and Revolution in Cuba

Abstract

In Literature and National Life Antonio Gramsci addresses himself to the question of revolutionary culture when he talks about the relationship among the "new art," "new artists," and "new culture": "To fight for a new art would mean to create new artists which is absurd, since they cannot be created artificially. One should speak of creating a new culture…a new way of seeing and perceiving reality and, consequently, of a world linked with 'possible' artists and 'possible' works of art."! In discussing the role of literature—and, in its broader sense, culture—in the Cuban Revolution, I want to underline Gramsci's words creating a new culture because this is what is going on in Cuba and is a primary means of understanding their new literature.

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