On September 25, 2019, The Hostos Latin American Writers Institute (LAWI) celebrated the launch of Issue #15 of the “Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana: Ecos Urbanos/Urban Ecos” under the direction of the journal’s new Chief Editor, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Unit at Hostos Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla, Ph.D.

The evening featured readings by some of the issue’s contributors and a roundtable discussion with guest writers and editors on publishing in Spanish in the United States today, the second most spoken language of the country. In attendance were authors Pilar Clemente (Chile-U.S.), Rosalba Henao (Colombia- U.S.), Lucía Orellana (Ecuador-U.S.), Carolina Rivera Escamilla (El Salvador-U.S.), Mariana Ruiz González Renteria (Mexico-U.S.), and Claudia Salazar (Peru-U.S.), as well as editors of Spanish-language literature Asdrúbal Hernández and Alejandro Varderi.

In Spanish, the writers shared stories about displacement, adapting, longing for home, and about growing and becoming a part of the larger diaspora in different cities of the United States.

“It feels extremely satisfying to be able to support contemporary Spanish language writers. While many writers are putting their work out there, they remain mostly isolated from mainstream opportunities. ‘Revista Hostosiana’ is an effort to bring relevant and important voices together, and have a place to cultivate and strengthen our literary artistic community,” said Professor Lara-Bonilla.

LAWI was founded in 1987 and has remained devoted to promoting and disseminating the work of Latin American, Ibero-American, as well as U.S. Latina/Latino writers residing in the United States. It aims to build bridges between these writers and their counterparts in Latin America, Spain, and other parts of the world. “Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana” supports literary creation and provides opportunities for publishing and the discussion of topics that are fundamental to contemporary cultural activity.

Founder and distinguished Professor Emeritus Isaac Goldemberg founded LAWI as an outgrowth of the New York Latin American Book Fair held in 1985 at New York University and brought it with him to Hostos in 1992, where he also founded the “Hostos Review/ Revista Hostosiana.” Goldemberg is a prolific and awarded author of poetry, fiction, theatre, and personal essays. His books include the celebrated novel “The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner” (1978), and the more recent “Libro de reclamaciones” (2018), “Philosophy and Other Fables” (2016), and “Acuérdate del escorpión” (2015).

Professor Lara-Bonilla is also an author whose research focuses on contemporary Latin American and Latina Women’s literature and feminist thought. Her research has received awards from Harvard University and the City University of New York, and her essays and poetry are continually published in such reputed journals as “Latino Studies,” “Chicana/Latina Studies,” “New York History,” “Public,” or anthologies such as “Luna y panorama en los rascacielos” (2019).