Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

When we speak of literary research, or the so called science of literature, the question that arises is what creativity in this sort of writing/research is. It mainly consists in interpreting literary texts in which the researcher’s capacity to unfold creativity is demanded. Indeed, a good literary work is very creative, albeit the analysis of this is sometimes perceived as rigorous and ‘dry’. This essay presents some reflections as regards the reconciliation of these two allegedly opposed aspects.

What happens when a mother finds a scorpion in her daughter’s crib? Vengeance is never enough.

A contextual and literary analysis of Arturo, la estrella más brillante [Arcturus, the brightest star], the brightest star, is carried out; it is one of the least known brief novels by Reinaldo Arenas, in which he pays homage to writer Nelson Rodríguez. Emphasis is made on the metafiction, intertextuality and rhetorical resources the author resorts to build the narration. The work recreates the horror of the concentration camps for sexual and political dissidents in Castro's Cuba. At once the novel locates in the testimonial literature and autobiography and puts forward imagination as a form of creative evasion that opposes censorship.

The deep wound of racism and discrimination, pillars upon which the American citizenship and epic were founded, find in Claudia Rankine’s poetry a testimonial and intimate chant. The translation of the verses is at once a call and a question, a challenge that at once denounces history and tries to be a consolation for the present.  

Book reviews of book Objetos imaginarios, de Ingrid Bringas, Mexicali, Pinos Alados ediciones, 2017.

Partakers of a globalized era in which, in addition to English, Romance languages such as Spanish, Italian or Portuguese have become internationally transcendent, this article intends to provide the tools to develop passive linguistic competence in Romance-language speakers —in particular of children— aiming to understand the general meaning of texts written in other languages of the same linguistic family. To do so, we resort to children's literature, a sort of literary production characterized by the use of simple language extremely useful for contrastive analyses of this kind. Using fragments from “Cinderella” written in a number of Romance languages, we apply EuroComRom’s (2005) seven sieves. Knowing this turns out a key element to understand the logic-semeiotic order of the Pan-Romance textual structure, a linguistic fabric in which so singular languages such as Maltese language are involved.

Boow reviews of Jorge Luis Herrera, Cotard: el secuestrador (Fragmentos de una novela), ISBN 9786078409365, México, Libros del Marqués, 2017, 69 pp.

Editorial del núm. 104.

This text is a diachronic reading of some voices and problems in contemporary Chilean poetry under the concept of epiphanic images. This category is understood as the use of images that manifest, appear or reveal as a way to illuminate or respond to a reality that by itself is difficult to define. The corpus addresses diverse poetic voices from Gonzalo Rojas to our current days, generating a discussion about some of the ways of conceiving poetry that lasted during the second half of the 20th century and that mutated with the most recent poetics that reread the past and visualize the present from a residual scope. It is concluded that a preponderant conception of current poetry is one that cannot be separated from a critical function that attempts to give name to the complex present of postdictatorial Chile.

Bamboo canes are a unique construction raw material for several types of structures, and there is a growing acceptance of bamboos for structural uses. However, they have as a disadvantage their propensity to attack by insects. In this work, a study of the effectiveness of three different types of preservatives was made with: 1) traditional chemicals, 2) natural substances with low risk to humans and 3) thermal at different temperatures to prevent the Dinoderus minutus beetle attack to Bambusa vulgaris vittata bamboo species. The first two treatments were performed by immersion, and thermal type was made by a drying process. Every two weeks, the attack on three specimens of each treatment was evaluated, including those corresponding to a control specimen without any preservation element. The results showed that most of the treatments by immersion were effective, reducing considerably the attack of the insects in comparison with the control. As for the heat treatment, temperatures less than or equal to 130 °C did not prove to be effective; temperatures of 190 °C and 210 °C revealed acceptable efficiencies.