Hostos Review

By Constanza Jaramillo -- Críticas, 11/1/2004

A first and promising issue of Revista Hostosiana/Hostos Review is now available by subscription, offering historical and analytical essays on Mexican culture and literature by such renowned writers as Alberto Ruy Sánchez and Héctor Aguilar Camín, as well as fiction and poetry by both veteran and new voices. Críticas spoke to editor and founder Isaac Goldemberg, a recognized Peruvian writer and a professor at the Hostos Community College in Bronx, NY, about the aims and significance of this new biannual publication.

Revista Hostosiana #1: La pirámide y el signo: Literatura y cultura de México (Siglos XX–XXI).
(Hostos Review #1: The Pyramid and the Sign: Literature and Culture of Mexico)
U.S.: Latin American Writers Institute: Hostos Community College of CUNY (718-518-6859). 2004. 353p. ISSN 1547- 4577. pap. $12 each; individual subscription: $20; institutions: $30.

What literary and cultural space does the Hostos Review seek to occupy?

We aim to combine the academic and the popular. We want to build bridges between literature and culture, and explore the relationships between literature and other disciplines, such as sociology and politics.

What is your goal when it comes to your collaborators?

We want to connect Hispanic writers living in the United States with their colleagues in Latin America, Europe, and other parts of the world. We are also interested in the relationships and similarities between works by Hispanics in English and in Spanish. In our upcoming issue, for instance, we will publish Newyorican writers alongside their counterparts in Puerto Rico.

How did you choose Mexico as a theme for the debut issue?

When we first started working on the magazine, we had five topics of study: Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Peruvian writers, and Judeo-Latin literature. The Mexican theme was the first to come to completion.

What trends do you see in Mexican literature?

I see three clear trends: the first is a very introspective and intellectual writing, characterized by an openness to other cultures. Contemporary Mexican poetry, for instance, reflects a familiarity with the East. A second tendency is the influence of North American writers, which translated into highly referential, cultured, and ornate texts. Finally, I see a literature that explores rural and popular Mexico and celebrates the country's ethnic origins. In fact, compared to the rest of Latin America, Mexico stands out for the ethnic diversity of its writers.

Tell us about the selection process for this issue.

Peruvian poet Miguel Angel Zapata, our guest editor, is very well versed in Mexican literature, history, and culture. We wanted to focus on what has been relevant in the past, but also identify new values in the essays, dialogs, fiction, and poetry of new writers. This issue offers classical essays, a view of 20th-century Mexican literature from a wide variety of vantage points, as well as the work of young writers, still in their 30s, who will go on producing for a very long time.

What practical use does Hostos offer?

It lets readers know which writers are relevant or becoming relevant. It also offers a service to literature teachers who are developing a curriculum and to editors looking for new talent. Lastly, Hostos serves as an important cultural and literary archive.