Costa Rican literature has roots in colonization and is marked by European influences. Because Costa Rica is a young country, its literary tradition is also young. The history of Costa Rican literature dates to the end of the 19th century.
Chronology
Currently, the most accepted chronology of Costa Rican literature is that proposed by professor Álvaro Quesada Soto. According to Soto, from the first literary publications in Costa Rica at the end of the 19th century, until now, there are five literary periods, which are traditionally called "generations". However, these periods are not "generations" in the traditional literary sense. Thus, the periods of Costa Rican literature are as follows.
The Olympus generation (1890–1920)
These are the writers within the model of the liberal oligarchic state. The literature of this era is characterized by its being written during a process of formation and consolidation of a national consciousness.
Manuel Argüello Mora
Manuel de Jesús Jiménez
Pío Víquez
Roberto Brenes Mesén
Aquileo Echeverría
Ricardo Fernández Guardia
Carlos Gagini
Manuel González Zeledón
The repertory generation (1920–1940) So called because of its link to the magazine Repertorio Americano de Joaquín García Monge. During this period there was a crisis of the liberal oligarchic regime, and so the literature of the era is characterized by new forms of language, such as the grotesque style, fierce and corrosive humor, parody, and satire.
Joaquín García Monge
Omar Dengo
Carmen Lyra
Mario Sancho
Max Jiménez
The 40s generation (1940–1960) During this era, social democracy was implanted in Costa Rica. It was a time of questioning and renewal, with major social reforms and a new concept of the state. Major literary themes included social problems, land distribution, and transnational corporations.
José Basileo Acuña
Isaac Felipe Azofeifa
Fabián Dobles
Carlos Luis Fallas
Joaquín Gutiérrez
Julián Marchena
Yolanda Oreamuno
José Marín Cañas
Carlos Luis Sáenz
Carlos Salazar Herrera
Moisés Vincenzi
The urban generation (1960–1980) At this time, modernization and industrialization took shape in Costa Rica. In the literature of this era the city is the predominant theme.
Alberto Cañas
Jorge Charpentier
Daniel Gallegos
Virginia Grütter
Carmen Naranjo
Eunice Odio
Samuel Rovinski
José León Sánchez
Laureano Albán
Julieta Dobles
Jorge Debravo
Alfonso Chase
The generation of disenchantment (1980–present) A new period of Costa Rican literature began in the 1980s. During this time, there has been a departure from the tendencies that have characterized Costa Rican literature from its beginnings. In particular, realism has been abandoned, and new forms of writing have appeared in its wake. This has led to a plurality of styles, times, and spaces within Costa Rican literature. Nevertheless, the works tend to fit within the same thematic context: disenchantment with the model of the state provided by Costa Rican politicians.
History
Origins
According to literary theorist Álvaro Quesada, "The formation of a national literature in Costa Rica was similar, in general terms, to the formation of national literatures in other Latin American countries, particularly those of Central America. This process formed part of a broader effort, the construction or invention of the 'nation', as an 'imagined community' more than a substantive reality: an effort that then responded to a project of unification and centralization of economic, political, and ideological power around a hegemonic criollo group linked to the exportation of agricultural products for the international market.
There are authors recognized today that date from the 19th century. These include those belonging to the "Lira costarricense" such as Aquileo J. Echeverría and Lisímaco Chavarría, and those of the Olympus generation such as Carlos Gagini and Ricardo Fernández Guardia. However, it is not until the 20th century that one can speak of a consolidated and coherent Costa Rican literature.
Twentieth century
Twentieth-century Costa Rican literature continued to be influenced by European literature.
