A Dream of Light and Shadow: Portraits of Latin American Women Writers.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

A Dream of Light and Shadow is a two-tome collection of essays on Latin American women writers and artists. This, the first volume, focuses on literary figures; the second, to be published later this year, is devoted to painters and sculptors. The articles, all written by specialists, vary greatly in style, scope, and perspective. Some are highly analytical, while others are almost impressionistic. Some stress biographical data; others, critical response. All are extremely readable and taken together, they provide a rich and varied overview of the creative output of Latin American women during this century.

Agosin's selection will surprise some. Several of Latin America's best known women writers have been omitted. There is no essay on Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel, Elena Garro, Maria Luisa Bombal, or Julia Alvarez, for example. The editor explains in her introduction:

By design I have included many prominent voices, as well as some that have yet to receive the recognition they deserve. . . . I have focused on women who have forged a destiny and contributed a sense of vision to the cultural landscape of Latin America. Each woman profiled in this book is vitally aware of the artistry, obsessions, and voices through which she creates her own sense of identity and reaches out to other women. . . . By bringing these authors together in a single collection, I hope to shed light on a shared tradition, and to show how each woman's individual vision responds to a feminine form of expression, a certain way of looking at writing and at the society in which she chooses to live.

The women included here are indeed strong, unique voices who have helped shape their national literatures and opened doors for others. Essays on writers such as Victoria Ocampo, Alfonsina Storni, Gabriela Mistral, Violeta Parra, and Elena Poniatowska reveal the passion and single-mindedness with which these women have persevered.

One of the most engrossing essays is the one on Clarice Lispector, by Giovanni Pontiero. An artist in his own right, Pontiero has been acclaimed for his exquisite translations of Lispector's works. He brings to his essay the depth and perception of one who knows his subject intimately, who writes from the inside. Pontiero supplies the pertinent facts about Lispector's biography, then launches a perceptive, insightful analysis of her work. He discusses her importance as a woman writer who, "with an unsparing eye . . . takes us through the solemn...