Spanish American Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source Book

(Hardback)

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Description

superb and indispensable. . . . this guide should serve to introduce a rich lode to scholarly miners of the Latin American literary tradition. Highly recommended. Choice Containing contributions by more than fifty scholars, this volume, the second of Diane Marting's edited works on the women of the literature of Spanish America, consists of analytical and biographical studies of fifty of the most important women writers of Latin America from the seventeenth century to the present. The writers covered in the individual essays represent most Spanish-speaking American nations and a variety of literary genres. Each essay provides biographical and career information, discusses the major themes in the body of work, and surveys criticism, ending with a detailed bibliography of works by the writer, works available in translation if applicable, and works about the writer. The editor's tripartite introduction freely associates themes and images with/about/for the works of Spanish American women writers; explains the history and process of the collaborative effort that this volume represents; and traces some feminist concerns that recur in the essays, providing commentary, analysis, suggestions for further research, and hypotheses to be tested. Two general essays complete the volume. The first examines the oral testimony of contemporary Indian women outside of the literary tradition, women whose words have been recorded by others. The other surveys Latina writers in the United States, an area not otherwise encompassed in the scope of this volume. Appendixes classify the writers in the main body of the work by birth date, country, and genre. Also included is a bibliography of reference works and general criticism on the Latin American woman writer, and title and subject indexes. This book addresses the needs of students, translators, and general readers, as well as scholars, by providing a general reference work in the area of Spanish American literature. As such, it belongs in the reference collections of all libraries serving scholars and students of Latin American and women's studies and literature.

Reviews

Apparently conceived as a sequel to Marting's Women Writers of Spanish America, this title does more than improve on its predecessor: it is a superb and indispensable supplement to Latin American Writers ed. by Carlos A. Sole, which included only 18 women in its 176 entries. The overlap is particularly small because Marting does not consider women from Brazil whereas Portugese-language authors seem to make up most of the entries for women in the larger work. Whatever the perceived problems of her earlier effort, Marting has now produced a well-edited and useful guide to the lives and works of 50 women, supplemented by two essays: Indian Women Writers of Spanish America' and Latina Writers in the United States.' Some names will be unfamiliar to many; this guide should serve to introduce a rich lode to scholarly miners of the Latin American literary tradition. Highly recommended.-Choice
There is no question that Spanish American Women Writers is an invaluable tool for novices in the field as well as for veteran researchers attempting to remain current in their information. . . . Marting is to be congratulated for matching the diversity she sought in her authors with the variety of her contributing colleagues.-Women's Studies International Forum
"There is no question that Spanish American Women Writers is an invaluable tool for novices in the field as well as for veteran researchers attempting to remain current in their information. . . . Marting is to be congratulated for matching the diversity she sought in her authors with the variety of her contributing colleagues."-Women's Studies International Forum
"Apparently conceived as a sequel to Marting's Women Writers of Spanish America, this title does more than improve on its predecessor: it is a superb and indispensable supplement to Latin American Writers ed. by Carlos A. Sole, which included only 18 women in its 176 entries. The overlap is particularly small because Marting does not consider women from Brazil whereas Portugese-language authors seem to make up most of the entries for women in the larger work. Whatever the perceived problems of her earlier effort, Marting has now produced a well-edited and useful guide to the lives and works of 50 women, supplemented by two essays: Indian Women Writers of Spanish America' and Latina Writers in the United States.' Some names will be unfamiliar to many; this guide should serve to introduce a rich lode to scholarly miners of the Latin American literary tradition. Highly recommended."-Choice

Author Bio

DIANE E. MARTING is Assistant Professor of Spanish American literature at Columbia University. She has held a Fulbright Dissertation Grant to Brazil and a Fulbright Senior Lecturing Grant to Colombia. She is the editor of Women Writers of Spanish America: An Annotated Bio-Bibliographical Guide (Greenwood Press, 1987) and is currently completing The Sexual Woman in Twentieth-Century Latin American Novels, a comparative study of female sexuality in Brazilian and Spanish American novels.