Nicole Roberts
Lecturer
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine

The Black Predicament: Language and Identity in Afro-Hispanic Caribbean Poetry

Several constructions inform identity, and language is certainly one of the most prevalent systems of identification. The scope of this paper is limited to the consideration of  identity and specifically it examines why Black identity is problematic and/or where it can be made to be empowering in the context of the Hispanic Caribbean. It does this through a nuanced reading of several poems written by Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican poets who all articulate a shared sense of vision in the construction and representation of an Afro-Hispanic Caribbean identity.

The poems are by the Dominicans Sherezada Vicioso and Blas Jiménez, the Cuban Excilia Saldaña and the Puerto Ricans Mayra Santos Febres and Magaly Quiñones. These poets attempt to formulate an open dialogue as they discuss Hispanic Caribbean identity. In the main, the commentary by these poets on Black identity is from the perspective which seeks to highlight blackness rather than subvert it as has been the consequence of the past.