In "Metaphors," Samuel Rovinski (Costa Rica) shows how a writer's superficial attempt to interpret experience metaphorically cripples him in social circumstances, while, in "Gloria Wouldn't Wait," Panamanian Jaime Garcia Saucedo focuses on the egotism of the writer's imagination as it tries to convert the tragedies of everyday life into some kind of literary document whose artistic qualities would belie their actual reality." "Human - and humane - values in the face of adversity are celebrated throughout, even when seemingly futile in the midst of overwhelming odds. Contemporary Short Stories from Central America embraces every aspect of the human condition addressed by the literature of the Western world and demonstrates the cultural vitality of our Central American neighbors."--BOOK JACKET.

Available in English for the first time, a collection of deeply humane stories depicting marginalized populations by one of the greatest South American writers of the 20th century. The Peruvian writer Julio Ramón Ribeyro is one of the masters of the short story and a major contributor to the great flourishing of Latin American literature that followed the Second World War. In a letter to an editor, Ribeyro said about his stories, “in most of [them] those who are deprived of words in life find expression—the marginalized, the forgotten, those condemned to an existence without harmony and without voice. I have restored to them the breath they’ve been denied, and I’ve allowed them to modulate their own longings, outbursts, and distress.” This is work of deep humanity, imbued with a disorienting lyricism that is Ribeyro’s alone. The Word of the Speechless, edited and translated by Katherine Silver, introduces readers to an indispensable and unforgettable voice of Latin American fiction.

This much-needed guide to translated literature offers readers the opportunity to hear from, learn about, and perhaps better understand our shrinking world from the perspective of insiders from many cultures and traditions. In a globalized world, knowledge about non-North American societies and cultures is a must. Contemporary World Fiction: A Guide to Literature in Translation provides an overview of the tremendous range and scope of translated world fiction available in English. In so doing, it will help readers get a sense of the vast world beyond North America that is conveyed by fiction titles from dozens of countries and language traditions. Within the guide, approximately 1,000 contemporary non-English-language fiction titles are fully annotated and thousands of others are listed. Organization is primarily by language, as language often reflects cultural cohesion better than national borders or geographies, but also by country and culture. In addition to contemporary titles, each chapter features a brief overview of earlier translated fiction from the group. The guide also provides in-depth bibliographic essays for each chapter that will enable librarians and library users to further explore the literature of numerous languages and cultural traditions.

A comprehensive, encyclopedic guide to the authors, works, and topics crucial to the literature of Central and South America and the Caribbean, the Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature includes over 400 entries written by experts in the field of Latin American studies. Most entries are of 1500 words but the encyclopedia also includes survey articles of up to 10,000 words on the literature of individual countries, of the colonial period, and of ethnic minorities, including the Hispanic communities in the United States. Besides presenting and illuminating the traditional canon, the encyclopedia also stresses the contribution made by women authors and by contemporary writers. Outstanding Reference Source Outstanding Reference Book

There is a wealth of published literature in English by Latin American women writers, but such material can be difficult to locate due to the lack of available bibliographic resources. In addition, the various types of published narrative (short stories, novels, novellas, autobiographies, and biographies) by Latin American women writers has increased significantly in the last ten to fifteen years. To address the lack of bibliographic resources, Kathy Leonard has compiled Latin American Women Writers: A Resource Guide to Titles in English. This reference includes all forms of narrative-short story, autobiography, novel, novel excerpt, and others-by Latin American women dating from 1898 to 2007. More than 3,000 individual titles are included by more than 500 authors. This includes nearly 200 anthologies, more than 100 autobiographies/biographies or other narrative, and almost 250 novels written by more than 100 authors from 16 different countries. For the purposes of this bibliography, authors who were born in Latin America and either continue to live there or have immigrated to the United States are included. Also, titles of pieces are listed as originally written, in either Spanish or Portuguese. If the book was originally written in English, a phrase to that effect is included, to better reflect the linguistic diversity of narrative currently being published. This volume contains seven indexes: Authors by Country of Origin, Authors/Titles of Work, Titles of Work/Authors, Autobiographies/Biographies and Other Narrative, Anthologies, Novels and Novellas in Alphabetical Order by Author, and Novels and Novellas by Authors' Country of Origin. Reflecting the increase in literary production and the facilitation of materials, this volume contains a comprehensive listing of narrative pieces in English by Latin American women writers not found in any other single volume currently on the market. This work of reference will be of special interest to scholars, students, and instructors interested in narrative works in English by Latin American women authors. It will also help expose new generations of readers to the highly creative and diverse literature being produced by these writers.

Bilingual anthology offers geographic and cultural diversity with stories from Central America, South America, and Spain. Featured authors include Silvina Ocampo, Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Augusto Roa Bastos, and many others.