Contemporary Latin American Literature : Original Selections from the Literary Giants for Intermediate and Advanced Students

by Gladys M. Varona-Lacey

Contemporary Latin American Literature reflects the wealth of great writers of Latin America over the last hundred years, including Jorge Luis Borges, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Noble Prize winners Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, and Gabriel Garcia Márquez. The selections--almost 100 works in their original form--include English definitions for difficult Spanish words.

Genres: Spanish Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

Reviews

[Shuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

inglés abajo / english below

Esta colección agradable de cuentos y poemas de Latinoamérica es provechosa para lxs aprendizas y aprendices intermedixs de español pero también para todos que quieren ampliar sus horizontes literarios por incluir más voces latinoaméricanas.

Las selecciones son interesantes; algunos son de autores que muchos anglohablantes ya conocen (como Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende) pero algunos son más raramente traducidos al inglés. Además de los cuentas y poemas hay un resumen breve de la historia de la escena literaria de Latinoamérica (que es en inglés, lamentablemente).

Mi asunto único es la elección de las palabras glosadas al final de la página! Frecuentemente encontré sentencias que tienen palabras raras o dialectales sin glosa pegado a palabras cotidianas con explicaciones a fondo. Me confunda a tope!

Muchos materials por estudiantes son bien homogéneo pero parece que Gladys M. Varona-Lacey, la editora del texto, se esforzó por incluir una mezcla de autores de diversos países del Latinoamérica pero creo que pudo haber expandido la selección con más mujeres y caribeños. Sólo 20% de los autores son mujeres y 15% del Caribe (mientras casi un tercio son mexicanos, por ejemplo) pero honestamente me busco tres patas al gato.

Considerándolo todo creo que Contemporary Latin American Literature funciona bien como un introducción del canon literario de Latinoamérica y introduce muchos varios autores y movimientos de literatura por estudiar más.

This pleasant collection of Latin American short stories and poems is helpful for intermediate learners of Spanish but also for anyone who wants to broaden their literary horizons to include more Latin American voices.

The selections are interesting; some are from other that many English speakers already know (like Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende) but some are more rarely translated into English. Along with the stories and poems there is an brief overview of the Latin American literary scene (which is in English, lamentably).

My only issue is the selection of glossed words at the bottom of the page! Frequently I found sentences with rare or dialectal words un-glossed right next to everyday words with thorough explanations. It was mystifying!

Many Spanish learning materials are super homogenous but it seems like Gladys M. Varona-Lacey, the editor of the book, strove to include a mix of authors from various countries in Latin America but I think she could have expanded the selection with more women and people from the Caribbean. Only 20% of the authors were women and 15% from the Caribbean (while nearly a third were Mexican, for example) but honestly I'm just splitting hairs at this point.

Altogether, I think Contemporary Latin American Literature works well as introduction to the Latin American literary canon and introduces a lot of authors and literary movements for further study.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solo hay cuatro mujeres en ese libro, que pena...

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been trying to read more latin american authors and this had many that I haven't heard of but good and unique. There are some gems of poetic lines un this book.