"Poetry for Export" in Brutality Garden

Christopher Dunn’s “Poetry for Export” in Brutality Garden is immensely informative. Throughout Dunn’s work he discusses the work of a man named Oswald de Andrade who wrote a book entitles “Brazilwood Manifesto”. Oswald in fact believes that there needs to be “more inventors and engineers to produce and implement new forms of modern technology, as well as for new artists to create “agile and candid” poetry using Brazilian street vernacular “without archaisms, without erudition” (16).” In other words, Oswald believes that one should create as long as one is not adopting an artistic or literary style as well as not acquiring extensive knowledge from profound books. He believes in originality, like Martí, and does not believe in imitation. Oswald, Martí, and Rodó all accept the idea that the mind is a crucial tool that we should use as a way to be creative and individualistic. Oswald and Rodó’s views clash because Oswald does not believe one should use enlightened books as a form to create or invent and Rodó defends the thought that there is power through books. Oswald, Martí, and Rodó are all modern thinker’s who have very similar and diverse ideas. Oswald seems to be really focused on the future and technology and Rodó feels that Latin American culture should some what revert back to classical western traditions. Oswald has an extremely contemporary view on Latin America and how society should continue to progress in the future. I found this book interesting for the fact Dunn incorporates several types of ethnicities into his work. I feel as though Dunn’s work is a bit more open minded where as Martí and Rodó’s work is extremely bias and inflexible to outside opinions.