The Diasporic Odysseys of Reinaldo Arenas and His Writings

doi:10.1017/9781009168359.031

30 - The Diasporic Odysseys of Reinaldo Arenas and His Writings

from Part IV - The Revolution’s Literary-Cultural Initiatives and Their Early Discontents

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2024

José A. Quiroga

Edited by

Vicky Unruh and

Jacqueline Loss

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Vicky Unruh: Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Jacqueline Loss: Affiliation:
University of Connecticut

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Summary

Framing Reinaldo Arenas’s memoir Antes que anochezca [Before Night Falls] as “the best-known Cuban book to have never been published in Cuba,” this chapter explores the relationship to imagination, literary history, desire, pleasure, and death that pervades its author’s entire oeuvre. With readings, along with the memoir, of the fictions Celestino antes del alba (1967), El palacio de las blanquísimas mofetas (1982), Viaje a La Habana: Novela en tres viajes (1990), La loma del Ángel (1987), and El color del verano o nuevo jardín de las delicias (1991) and with allusions to other works, the chapter sees Arenas’s work as successive acts of revenge against all conformity and against all that sought to constrain imaginative freedom. This underscores his importance for individuals and communities composed of queer, dissident, and marginalized individuals in Cuba and worldwide.

Keywords

Reinaldo Arenas (1943–1990)Antes que anocheza (1992)Celestino antes del alba (1967)El palacio de las blanquísimas mofetas (1982)Viaje a La Habana: Novela en tres viajes (1990)La loma del Ángel (1987)El color del verano o nuevo jardín de las delicias (1991)

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Cuban Literature , pp. 469 - 484

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009168359.031 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2024

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References

Works Cited

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