Passion, Memory and Identity: Twentieth-Century Latin American Jewish Women Writers

by Marjorie Agosín (Editor)

This collection of essays, written by a distinguished group of literary critics, explores the Jewish woman's experience in Latin America. It came about as an attempt to define the cultural experience of Jewish Latin American women writers, as well as their relationship with their various countries. Included are Ilan Stavans and Magdalena Maiz-Peña writing on Mexico, David William Foster on Argentina, Regina Igel and Nelson Vieira on Brazil, Elizabeth Ross Horan on Chile and Uruguay, Joan Friedman on Venezuela, and Ruth Behar, Ester Shapiro Rok, and Rosa Lowinger on Cuba. As Marjorie Agosín notes, the role of memory for the writers included in this volume is a central theme. The majority of them are daughters of Sephardic or Ashkenazi immigrants, many of whom fled the Holocaust. They write openly about their identity and their hybrid condition as Jews in predominantly Catholic countries, an issue that has not, until recently, been addressed with candor.

261 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Marjorie Agosín was born in Maryland and raised in Chile. She and her parents, Moises and Frida Agosín, moved to the United States due to the overthrow of the Chilean government by General Pinochet's military coup. Coming from a South American country and being Jewish, Agosín's writings demonstrate a unique blending of these cultures.

Agosín is well known as a poet, critic, and human activist. She is also a well-known spokesperson for the plight and priorities of women in Third World countries. Her deep social concerns and accomplishments have earned her many awards and recognitions, and she has gained an international reputation among contemporary women of color.

Agosín, a passionate writer, has received critical acclaim for her poetry collections, her close reflections on her parents and family, and her multi-layered stories. Within every novel, story, or poem, she captures the very essence of Jewish women at their best. Agosín's works reveal the experiences of pain and anguish of Jewish refugees. She writes about the Holocaust as well as anti-Semitic events that occurred in her native land.

Agosín has many fascinating works and is recognized in both North and South America as one of the most versatile and provocative Latin American writers. Agosín became a writer to make a difference: "I wanted to change the world through peace and beauty," she said. Today she is not only a writer, but also a Spanish professor at Wellesley College.