Searching for Recognition

In the last 50 years, Latin American literature has become one of the primary focuses of U.S. intellectual attention. This behind-the-scenes account focuses on the efforts of those Americans—publishers, critics, editors, and writers—who brought recognition to Latin American writing. Rostagno explores how the promotion and reception of Latin American literature in this country involve such issues as North American literary tastes and publishing strategies and are part of a larger and more complex picture of inter-American cultural and commercial relations. This fascinating story of the creation of an international audience for a literature explores the roles of critic Waldo Frank, publishers Blanche and Alfred Knopf, editors Margaret Randall and Sergio Mondragón, and the Center for Inter-American Relations.