Literary Memoirs [Paperback]

Novelist, scholar, journalist, statesman, and leading member of Chile's Generation of 1842 --an intellectual movement so named for the founding of the National University--Jos?? Victorino Lastarria (1811-1888) lived his life at the forefront of nineteenth-century Chilean and Spanish American culture, literature, and politics.Recuerdos Literarios(orLiterary Memoirs) is his masterpiece, encompassing the candid memories of a tireless activist, both the creative and critical sensibilities of an influential Latin American early modernist, and an eyewitness account of the development of Chilean literature and historiography. An ardent, eloquent participant in every defining artistic and ideological debate in Chile during the formative mid-1800s, Lastarria recorded his epoch as closely as he did his own origins, education, ambitions, and career. Sometimes reminiscent of Montaigne's essays, E??a de Quieroz's journalism, or Barbusse's didactic convictions,Literary Memoirsis an engrossing account of Chile's newly ordained nationhood.

This addition to Oxford's prestigious Library of Latin America series is more than a retelling of things past; it is an informed yet informal testament to the idea ofchilenidad(or Chileanness ) and a detailed portrait of one of Chile's cultural architects. For this new edition ofLiteraryMemoirs, Frederick M. Nunn's introduction presents an informative historical background and R. Kelly Washbourne's translation carefully preserves Lastarria's form and content.

Frederick M. Nunnis Professor of History and International Studies at Portland State University. He is the author ofThe Time of the Generals: Latin American Professional Militarism in World Perspective.

R. Kelly Washbourneis completing his doctorate in Latin American literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is assistant editor of theAmazonian Literary l£$