Cuba marks 121st anniversary of birth of its national poet

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 10 (ACN) Manuel Marrero Cruz, Cuban Prime Minister, recalled today the 121st anniversary of the birth of National Poet Nicolas Guillen.

On the 121st anniversary of his birth, we remember Nicolas Guillen, our National Poet; to say his name, is to say Cuba, declared the Cuban premier on Twitter.

The literary activity of Nicolas Guillen (Camaguey, 1902 - Havana, 1989) began in postmodernism, although soon his production was inscribed within the realist line of Cuban avant-gardism.

Among his first works are Motivos de son (1930), Songoro cosongo (1931) and West Indies Limited (1934), with which he joined the political and anti-imperialist protest.

His poetry evolved in the direction of political and social concerns, showed his commitment to the Cuban Revolution and also echoed neo-romantic and metaphysical concerns such as the transcendence of love and death.

Titles such as El gran zoo (1967), La rueda dentada (1972), El diario de a diario (1972), Por el mar de las Antillas anda un barco de papel (1977), Prosa de prisa (1975-1976), Poemas para niños y mayores de edad (1977) and others, will always be remembered in the popular imagination.

Among the awards he received throughout his life are the National Prize for Literature (1983), Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, (1975), Doctor Honoris Causa in Hispanic Language and Literature from the University of Havana, Cuba, (1975), Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa. University of Bordeaux. France, (1978), Distinguished Guest of the city of Caracas, Venezuela, (1975), José Martí Order of the Council of State, Cuba, (1981) among others.