In this essay, Raúl Roa García analyzes José Martí’s poetry, especially his “Versos sencillos,” to highlight their innovative and modernist nature. To begin with, he comments that Martí cannot be placed in any “lyrical school” or “literary trend” of this time. Although it is known that his reading included Baudelaire and Verlaine, he knew how to develop his own style. This style was determined by the fact that his “robust thought process was in conflict with the foggy ideology—which could even be called sickly—that distinguishes French Symbolism from its American version, modernism.” The writer assures us that since art and life were inseparable for Martí, his work overlapped with different aspects of his life. Roa points out that the holistic element of the poet’s work differentiates him from his predecessors, and even more so from his contemporaries. The desire for freedom in his art life as well as in his political thinking is woven into the themes embraced by his work. That is why his poetry is filled with great honesty and delivered in a direct and simple style. Roa explains that the simplicity of Martí’s poetics throughout his work, but especially in his “Versos sencillos,” turns aesthetics into ethics and vice versa. That perfect union identifies Martí as a true modernist. Although he did not fall in with any avant-garde trend of his period, he never abandoned “all the ingredients used in the gigantic laboratory of the new poetry.” Roa states that to understand the modernity of Martí’s work, the reader must focus on what is specific to that work: “simplicity of form.” According to Roa, that is what makes his work radical: a liberating, universal ethics and political outlook. 

Raúl Roa García (1907–82) was a Cuban intellectual and politician. He studied law at the University of Havana, and with Julio Antonio Mella and Rubén Martínez Villena, he participated in student protests against the Machado dictatorship. After being arrested for his activities and exiled to the United States, he studied at Columbia University and the New School for Social Research in New York. Roa made important contributions to both literature and journalism, including the historical work “Historia de las doctrinas sociales.” His contributions were published in a number of cultural journals in Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia. He also published numerous essays and articles about the life and work of José Martí. In this text, Roa discusses the avant-garde nature of the poet’s work and thinking. Unwilling to be limited to the modernist trends that proliferating during his lifetime, Martí developed a unique style guided by his own sensibility. Highlighting his characteristics as an avant-garde artist, Roa illustrates the close relationship between ethics and aesthetics in the poet’s work. He points out the ethical and political commitment in Martí’s thinking, along with the way this is revealed and stands out in his poetry, differentiating his work from that of his contemporaries. Like Jorge Mañach and Juan Marinello, Roa was another Cuban intellectual who spent time studying and reviving Martí’s work. This work was fundamental to both the development of the Cuban intellectual movement and the formation of nationalist ideals. [For other essays and texts published in Revista de avance, see the following in the ICAA digital archive: “Índice del Tomo I (Números 1 al 12 inclusive)” (anonymous) (doc. no. 1300106); by Martí Casanovas “Almanaque” (doc. no. 1299709), “Almanaque: Exposición Gattorno” (doc. no. 1298711), “Nuevos Rumbos: La exposición de ‘1927’” (doc. no. 1280155), and “Pierre Flouquet” (doc. no. 1299881); “[El arte nuestro debe ser instintiva o intuitivamente americano...],” by Víctor Andrés Belaúnde (doc. no. 832310); “[Basta con que revele una honda...],” by Carlos Préndez Saldías (doc. no. 832258); “Causerie sobre el Salón de Bellas Artes,” by Adia M. Yunkers (doc. no. 1298799); “[Creo que el artista americano...],” by Ildefonso Pereda Valdés (doc. no. 832328); “Dibujos escolares” (anonymous) (doc. no. 1299805); “Diego Rivera,” by Alejo Carpentier (doc. no. 1299962); “Eduardo Abela: pintor cubano,” by Adolfo Zamora (doc. no. 1280283); “El futuro artista,” by Eduardo Abela (doc. no. 1299789); by Juan Marinello “El insoluble problema del intelectual” (doc. no. 1299897), and “El momento” (doc. no. 1125671); “El prejuicio en el ritmo intelectual de las épocas,” by Francisco Ichaso (doc. no. 1299741); “El problema internacional de Centro América y Cuba,” by Fernando de los Ríos (doc. no. 1300090); “La cuestión del negro” (anonymous) (doc. no. 1280299); “La lección de Juan Gris,” by Juan Gris (doc. no. 1299946); “Marrozzini y la mediocridad: notas sobre declaraciones de Luigi Marrozzini,” by Lorenzo Homar (doc. no. 861634); “Nacionalismo y Costumbrismo,” by Severo García Pérez (doc. no. 1300058); “Nacionalismos en América,” by Eugenio d’Ors (doc. no. 1299757); “Nota de los 5—2,” by Jorge Mañach et al. (doc. no. 1299930); “Programa de criolledad,” by Félix Lizaso (doc. no. 1125414); and “Vértice del gusto nuevo,” by Jorge Mañach (doc. no. 832383)].