Puerto Rican literature

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Puerto Rican literature is the body of literature produced by writers of Puerto Rican descent. It evolved from the art of oral storytelling. Written works by the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico were originally prohibited and repressed by the Spanish colonial government^{[citation needed]}.

It was not until the late 19th century, with the arrival of the first printing press and the founding of the Royal Academy of Belles Letters, that Puerto Rican literature began to flourish. The first writers to express their political views in regard to Spanish colonial rule of the island were journalists. After the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War and the island was ceded to the United States as a condition of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, writers and poets began to express their opposition of the new colonial rule by writing about patriotic themes.

With the Puerto Rican diaspora of the early and mid-20th century, and the subsequent rise of the Nuyorican Movement, Puerto Rican literature continued to evolve and many Puerto Ricans have distinguished themselves as authors, poets, novelists, playwrights, and essayists.