The Black Drums of a future Folk

Religion, Poetry and Music in Alejo Carpentier's Early Work

Abstract

The present essay intends to analyze the productive tension between literature and musicality implicit in Alejo Carpentier”™s early novel ¡Écue-Yamba-Ó! The concept of the ”˜rhythm”™, which can be found in Octavio Paz”™ poetics, serves as an instrument for the analysis of this novel. The musical rhythm acts a poetic revelation in the literary work. The socalled poesí­a negra is a clear example of such a poetical process. In addition to that, the novel as a literary genre makes this rhythmical composition possible. The clear connections between the novel and the poems in Cinco poemas afrocubanos confirm the interaction between the musicality and the prosaic; these connections deconstruct the division between literary genres and present a wider concept of what is considered poetic.