Plasmas En Todas Partes

Winner of the Nobel prize for literature in 1990, Paz first published El Laberinto de la soledad (The Labyrinth of Solitude) in 1950. Although it has raised controversy over the years, it is considered to be a landmark work, one of the most brilliant analyses ever written on Mexican culture. Today it is still the most frequently requested title in the Fondo de Cultura Economica's catalog and has sold almost one million copies. In its opening pages, Paz wrote, ""The questions we all ask ourselves today will probably be incomprehensible 50 years from now. Different circumstances are likely to produce different reactions."" In August 2000, a weeklong colloquium was held in Mexico City not only to commemorate the book's 50th anniversary but also to reassess the work. Thirty scholars including such prominent figures as Carlos Monsiv is (see p. 27 for an interview with Monsiv is), Enrique Krauze, Anthony Stanton, Manuel Duran, Roger Bartra, and Leopoldo Zea participated in a total of eight public lectures and five roundtables. This volume brings together the majority of those presentations. As befits such a multifaceted work, the participants examine Paz's writings from a variety of perspectives: political, historical, philosophical, and literary. Although a few of the papers (e.g., those by Monsiv is, Duran, and Stanton) are general enough that they can be read by the nonspecialist, most have an academic focus that presupposes a familiarity with Paz and his oeuvre. Recommended for academic libraries only. David Pardue, Univ. of Kansas Libs., Lawrence