Argentina

Argentina has produced some of the most well-known writers of the Americas: Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, and Luisa Valenzuela, to name but a few from the country’s capital, Buenos Aires. But what lies beyond Argentina’s urban center will equally intrigue readers as they travel through one of the most geographically and culturally diverse regions of Latin America. This exciting collection of stories will take readers on a literary journey that climbs the Andes Mountains, navigates the great River Plate, traverses the expansive plains of the Pampas, and explores the ever-changing landscape of the Patagonia as it extends south to Tierra del Fuego. Seasoned travelers will recognize their favorite haunts and those yet unfamiliar with the region will long to make the journey.

Moving beyond the cultural icons that have become synonymous with Argentina (such as gauchos, tango, and maté), the stories gathered here reflect the country’s rich cultural and literary traditions as they assemble a cast of characters created by some of the finest writers of the last hundred years. Argentina challenges the imagination, tantalizes the senses, and tugs at readers’ heartstrings — leaving them wanting more.

View the Preface | Interview with the Editor

We can hear a country speak and better learn its secrets through the voices of its great writers…. an engaging series—a compelling idea, thoughtfully executed.

—Isabel Allende

• Ana María Shua, Time Travel

• Editor Jill Gibian is a professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Eastern Oregon University. As a Fulbright Scholar, she has been committed to studying and translating the literature and culture of the River Plate region. She is particularly interested in the study of tango and in questions of memory and national identity as presented through literature and film of the Southern Cone. Her anthology, Tango-Lit: Parodies of Passion (forthcoming) focuses on the tango as cultural text.
• Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) Internationally known for his many collections of short fiction, essays, and poems, Borges is by far Argentina’s most celebrated writer. As a reader and translator of world literature, himself, and former director of the National Library, his contributions to the literary world are vast and incomparable. While he is perhaps best known for his innovative narrative style, his writings often encompass national themes and are replete with local color and landscapes.
• Marcelo Birmajer (1966- ) Perhaps best known for co-writing the film script with director Daniel Burman of El abrazo partido (The Lost Embrace)(2004), his work often revolves around Buenos Aires’Jewish community known as Barrio Once. His humor has often been compared to that of Woody Allen´s as his characters display a healthy neurosis towards life, literature, and the pursuit of happiness.

• Translator bios to come.

Argentina: A Traveler’s Literary Companion

Trade paperback original

Travel/Fiction

5 x 7¼, 256 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-883513-19-1

Publication date: January 2010

Excerpts to come.