Peripheral Visions? Literary Canon Formation in Revolutionary Cuba

Kumaraswami attempts to develop a more subtle framework within which to understand the construction of multiple canons of Cuban literature. He ultimately analyzes the mechanisms and criteria that have operated on the island to question and transform not only conventional views of literature, but also conventional expectations regarding the literary canon. In so doing, he argues that canon construction is so closely bound to literary policy and practice--as part of a wider project of creating a national literature and literary culture--that the two must be considered together if one is to avoid essentializing and over-simplifying what is a complex process.