Documents in Crisis: Nonfiction Literatures in Twentieth-Century Mexico(SUNY series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture)

This title examines the theory and practice of nonfiction narrative literature in twentieth-century Mexico.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Distinction of Nonfiction: Toward a Theoretical Framework 2. Writing the Mexican Revolution of 1910 3. Living Stories, Telling Lives: Autobiographical Writings of Jose Vasconcelos and Maria Luisa Puga 4. Life Writing from a Popular Perspective 5. Chronicling Crisis: Late Twentieth-Century Manifestations of the Literature of Encounter 6. Making History: Subcomandante Marcos in the Mexican Chronicle Conclusions: Thinking Back, Looking Ahead Notes Works Cited Index

About the Author :
Beth E. Jorgensen is Professor of Spanish at the University of Rochester. Her books include (with coeditor Ignacio Corona) The Contemporary Mexican Chronicle: Theoretical Perspectives on the Liminal Genre, also published by SUNY Press; The Writing of Elena Poniatowska: Engaging Dialogues; and a new rendition, with notes, of Mariano Azuela's The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution.

Review :
"Jorgensen's text is a succinct, clear and insightful introduction to the nebulous category that is non-fiction writing in Mexico. Her synthesis of key debates and concepts is invaluable to an understanding of the field ... This is a field which is, as yet, greatly understudied given the level of production of such texts in Mexico. Therefore, Jorgensen's book is welcome not only for the high standard of research and insight she provides, but also because of the relative scarcity of research in this field." - Bulletin of Spanish Studies "...[a] solidly informative book." - Revista de Estudios Hispanicos "This book examines traditional 'fact-based genres'-autobiography, chronicle essay, ethnography, memoir, testimony, and travel writing-as undertaken by some of Mexico's best-known writers. Within a broad conceptual framework, Jorgensen engages with the work ... [and] does an excellent job ... Highly recommended." - CHOICE "I can always count on Beth Jorgensen's work for clearly written, smart analysis of the Mexican cultural scene. She is, of course, the author of an important study on Elena Poniatowska, and is known for her deep knowledge of Mexican nonfiction writers/cronistas. She brings this strength to her new book as well, where her deep familiarity and long interest in Mexican cultural forms lends her book an assured and confident grounding." - Debra A. Castillo, author of Redreaming America: Toward a Bilingual American Culture