Writing in the Air

Antonio Cornejo Polar (1936–1997) was an internationally acclaimed Peruvian literary and cultural critic. He taught and served as Rector at the National University of San Marcos in Lima. Over the course of his career, he held visiting professorships in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. Cornejo Polar wrote eleven books and founded and edited the well-respected journal Revista de CrÍtica Literaria Latinaomericana.

"Writing in the Air marks the beginning of a major shift in the conception of Latin American literature and culture. Antonio Cornejo Polar questioned the implicit equation of modernity/modernization, transculturation, literature, and the formation of the modern Latin American nation-state. The incorporation by the current governments of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru of strong, multicultural elements is related to the cultural paradigm elaborated in Writing in the Air. Cornejo Polar's arguments remain fresh and suggestive, and they are done justice in this excellent translation."-John Beverley, author of Latinamericanism after 9/11 "In his last, indispensable book, the great Antonio Cornejo Polar takes readers on a fascinating journey through the plural worlds of Andean culture. This classic text, finally available in English, proves yet again why the author is widely considered a scholar who revolutionized Latin American literary criticism, providing an incisive interpretation of how PerÚ-and the rest of the continent-expresses itself with glorious complexity in its most significant works of the imagination."-Ariel Dorfman, author of Feeding on Dreams: Confessions of an Unrepentant Exile "For cultural critics and theorists who read only English, Writing in the Air will have a special value, as each chapter (dealing with a major problem in the cultural formation of Latin America) benefits from the perspective that an extremely well-read and well-versed critic brings to the formulation of the problematic at hand. The prose is clear, the thinking has been slimmed down, the focus is unyielding, and the translator has done a very good job." - Sara Castro-Klaren (Critical Inquiry) "This attractive English edition of Cornejo Polar’s masterful excursion into Andean heterogeneity is a charter for investigating verbal discourse as a reflector and driver of history and its cultural formations."  - John Holmes McDowell (Anthropological Linguistics) "Writing in the Air reoriented and revitalized Latin American literary scholarship.... [T]he translator skillfully renders Cornejo Polar’s sometimes complex ideas in a rich prose that is pleasant to read. Indeed, this translation will be very important for scholars who work in comparative or Anglo-American literature and who, otherwise, would not have the linguistic tools to read works written by Latin American or Latino authors.... It will also be a useful tool for undergraduate students beginning their careers as Spanish, comparative literature, or Latin American studies majors. For those cohort groups, it should be considered a must-have item."  - Thomas Ward (Hispania)  "A book this important merits a skillful presentation to the English speaking world, and Lynda J. Jentsch has produced a translation reflecting the high standards and innovative vision of its author. Jean Franco's incisive and thoughtful preface gives important perspectives on this book in its Latin American context."  - Gwen Kirpatrick (Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas) "There is something so immense and wonderful in Cornejo Polar’s vision that, ultimately, it exceeds the bounds of his writing." - Katie Dimmery (Journal of Folklore Research)

• Acknowledgments viiForeword / Jean Franco ixIntroduction 11. Voice and the Written Word in the Cajamarca "Dialogue" 13The Cajamarca Chroncile 13Rituals of Other Memories 31A Perhaps Impossible Reading 46Identity, Alterity, History 552. The Structures of Homogeneity: Discourses of Impossible Harmony 59Garcilaso: Harmony Rent Asunder 60Social Depictions of the Inca 66From Garcilaso to Palma: One Language for All? 71Concerning Patriotic Speeches and Proclamations 75In Fiction: Three Novels 82Cumandá 84Torn from the Nest 89Juan de la Rosa 94Celebrations 1033. Stone of Boiling Blood: The Challenges of Modernization 113The Ambiguities of a New Language 114The Emergence of Dualism 126An Andean Modernity 131A Hobbled History: The Indigenist Novel 136The Subject Explodes 145Underground Voices 154Overture 165Notes 173Index 209