This dissertation analyzes the Cuban intellectual discourse by way of the cultural policies (and politics) of the Revolution. It outlines its development not only through its historical dimension but also through the different stages towards the creation of the poetic canon during the 20th century and its subsequent interpretations in the light of the historical events after 1959. Above all, it addresses how the debate over the function of art and the political engagement of intellectuals has been paramount to the definition of an ethics and, even of a style. We have chosen for our study Cintio Vitier (1921) and Reina Maria Rodriguez (1952), two renowned poets who also represent two poetic groups in conflict at the very beginnings of the Cuban Revolution: Origenistas and Coloquialistas respectively. Their poetry and public lives show divergent personal trajectories that go from an immersion in the public sphere to a retreat into private space
