Review 106, guest-edited by Néstor E. Rodríguez, focuses on contemporary Dominican writing and arts—compiling a selection of academic essays by scholars as well as texts by prose writers and poets residing in and outside the Dominican Republic. This issue is particularly important given the vital presence of the Dominican community at The City College of New York, Review’s host institution.
In his cogent introduction, Prof. Rodríguez highlights the contributions of leading figures of Dominican literature and Dominican studies and contextualizes the contents of the special issue. The articles, by scholars Emily A. Maguire, Sharina Maillo-Pozo, Danny Méndez, and Elizabeth Russ, address topics including challenges to hegemonic narratives, transnational dynamics in the borderlands, sexual identity, and blackness/whiteness, as manifested in works by authors Rita Indiana, Josefina Báez, Johan Mijail, and Jeannette Miller. The creative contents showcase fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by a host of iconic and emerging writers, among them Rey Andújar, Aurora Arias, Frank Báez, Josefina Baéz, José Mármol, and Miguel Yarull. All in all, the combined selections reflect the innovation and breadth of Dominican writing today, both in style and content. We’re pleased to present the evocative images of late artist Jorge Pineda on the cover and inside the issue.
Features in this issue include a memorial piece on the late Sylvia Molloy, by Prof. Andrea Weiss; an excerpt from Sergio Ramírez’s upcoming novel, Dead Men Cast No Shadows; and poetry by Marjorie Agosín and Lorenzo García Vega. The review section in the issue covers the latest titles in translation by Pedro Mir, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Óscar Hahn, among others, as well as scholarly work, and Cecilia Vicuña’s recent exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum.
I thank Néstor E. Rodríguez for the exciting selection of texts and art in Review 106. Additional thanks to all the scholars, writers, translators, and reviewers represented in this issue, as well as to our collaborating institutions, including the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute and the Universidad de Salamanca’s Cátedra Pedro Henríquez Ureña de Estudios Literarios Dominicanos. My continuing appreciation to our editorial staff and board, to CCNY’s Division of Humanities and Arts, and to Routledge/Taylor & Francis for their support of Review.
Review notes with sadness the passing of Nélida Piñon, the renowned Brazilian author, a Distinguished member of Review’s editorial advisory board, and a faithful friend and supporter of the journal since its earliest days. Our next issue will include a memorial piece by Elizabeth Lowe on our beloved colleague.