American literature in Spanish

American literature in Spanish is almost as old as the Spanish language in the north of the Rio Grande. Nevertheless, in recent years due to the growing influence of Hispanic culture and the growing number of Spanish readers and the emergence of Hispanic writers, United States has confirmed its features.

History

Colonial period

In 1610, Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá published his Historia de Nuevo México (History of New Mexico).

19th century

In 1880, José Martí moved to New York City.

Eusebio Chacón published El hijo de la tempestad in 1892.

20th century

Federico García Lorca wrote his collection of poems, Poeta en Nueva York, and the two plays Así que pasen cinco años and El público while he lived in New York. Giannina Braschi wrote the Hispanic postmodern poetry classic El imperio de los sueños in Spanish in New York. José Vasconcelos and Juan Ramón Jiménez were both exiles in the United States.

In her autobiography When I Was Puerto Rican (1993), Esmeralda Santiago recounts her childhood in Puerto Rico in the 1950s and her family's subsequent move to New York City, when she was 13. Originally written in English, the book is an example of New York Puerto Rican literature.

21st century

Contemporary classics are The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Crisis by Jorge Majfud, and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.

Authors

Some American authors of Spanish literature include: