Free Pages and Hard Times: Anarchist Musings

by Manuel González Prada, Frederick H. Fornoff (Translator), David Sobrevilla (Editor)

Manuel González Prada was a powerful Peruvian writer and political reformer whose essays and speeches influenced generations of young radicals. He founded the Party of National Unity in 1891, was linked to the anarchist movement, and served as Director of the National Library from 1912-1914.
His writings have had enormous impact on the literary and political life of taking up the defense of exploited indigenous people, broadsiding the landowning oligarchy, and denouncing the social and political errors of the country. In fact, the radical politics Prada advocated then are still
alive and relevant Modernization (secularization) of Peru, transformation of a nation through its people, promotion of internationalism (universalism) versus overt patriotism (communitarianism), and condemnation of war.
This translation is based on the Obras of González Prada , edited by Luis Alberto Sánchez. It includes essays, speeches and polemical writings drawn from two of Prada's only books of prose published during his lifetime, Paginas Libres and Horas de Lucha , in addition to unpublished manuscripts
and works previously printed in newspapers and magazines. His writings are gathered thematically under the subheadings "Peruvian Problems," "Anarchy," and "Philosophical, Literary, and Linguistic Problems."

Genres: Latinx, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2003

About the author

Jose Manuel de los Reyes González de Prada y Ulloa (Lima, January 5, 1844 – Lima, July 22, 1918) was a Peruvian politician and anarchist, literary critic and director of the National Library of Peru. He is well remembered as a social critic who helped develop Peruvian intellectual thought in the early twentieth century, as well as the academic style known as modernismo. He was close in spirit to Clorinda Matto de Turner whose first novel, Torn from the Nest approached political indigenismo, and to Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, who like González Prada, practiced a positivism sui generis.

Reviews

[Kirk]

a phenomenal writer (one of my favorites now) albeit with radical and misguided views. still an amazing read.