Marcy Schwartz is the chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and affiliated with the Center for Latin American Studies at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Her previous books include Writing Paris: Urban Topographies of Desire in Contemporary Latin American Fiction and Invenciones urbanas: ficción y ciudad latinoamericanas.
Rich in details and examples, exhaustively researched and
engagingly narrated, Public Pages is an example of cultural studies
at its most rewarding….This is clearly the work of a mature scholar
who has dedicated years of research to a project that is driven by
both intellectual, professional and personal concerns. Schwartz’
book succeeds in making visible a transnational push toward the
valuing of literature as a key to civic participation and social
change. It reveals the big picture of literature in Latin America
today in its most tangible—and necessary—form.
*Latin American Literary Review*
This study will be of great interest to scholars of contemporary
reading, education, and cultural production in Latin America, as
well as to anyone with a stake in the question of how local
organizing and the printed book might continue to serve as a focal
point for imagination and politics in an increasingly digital
world.
*Bulletin of Spanish Studies*
[Public Pages] is surely [Schwartz's] magnum opus...Combining a
celebratory tone with a cautious, critical edge, Schwartz’s book is
a stellar contribution to research on print culture, urban studies
and literary and cultural studies in Latin American and
transnational contexts. As befits a book that champions public
reading, Public Pages is clearly written and highly engaging,
making it accessible for researchers and the general public
alike.
*Bulletin of Hispanic Studies*
[Public Pages] makes a strong case for cultural production in
general, and particularly literary reading, to be an essential
element in the binding of the diverse communities that inhabit
today’s urban centres.
*Bulletin of Latin American Research*
Schwartz offers us a book-length example of approaches to the
public humanities and demonstrates ways to put them into practice,
as well as to analyze what the outcomes of these interventions
might be...Schwartz does not speculate about possible roles for the
humanities, but documents a series of hands-on projects in which
literature is key to creating community.
*Chasqui*
[Schwartz's] study models a patient form of reading that points to
important avenues of inquiry within the study of contemporary Latin
American literary culture...In both analytic detail and
methodological rigor, Public Pages is an inspiring contribution to
contemporary literary studies.
*Revista de Esudios Hispánicos*
The chapters [in Public Pages] on the cartoneras and the
commemorative activities organised in the libraries of banned books
in Argentina are inspiring. However, they are most of all
convincing examples on how activities related to literature in the
public space can contribute to community organising and the
creation of political awareness about a specific topic like
recycling or human rights.
*European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies*
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