HLAS annotation: Jesse Lee Kercheval has selected 21 Uruguayan poets (brought into English by an equal number of translators), born between 1976 and 1989, for this bilingual collection of emerging writers. Kercheval's introduction is exactly what the English-speaking reader needs to enter this world of South American poetry in a country that has produced outstanding writers that include Isidore Ducasse, Julio Herrera y Reissig, Juana de Ibarbourou, Delmira Agustini, Mario Benedetti, Marosa di Giorgio, Circe Maia as well as the 2018 winner of Spain's Cervantes Prize Ida Vitale. In addition to a discussion of this rich literary tradition, Kercheval also makes reference to certain key moments of recent Uruguayan history, such as the military dictatorship (1973-1985), though she makes it clear that "the younger poets' work is a response, not to history, but to what it is like to live in Uruguay now." One noteworthy poet, Agustín Lucas, in Kercheval's translation, chronicles the lives of the homeless in Montevideo: "The transients sleep, children of the street, with one eye obviously open, the proprietors of the stairs and of the railing, of the glass, of the bottle, of the remains of noodles and the heels of bread, of the blanket and the flip-flops, of the size extra large, of the toes sticking out. Prisoners of winter, free of the calendar and of the clock, heroes of the tranquility, friends of the dogs." [HLAS Contributor: Steven White]

HLAS annotation: Through an in-depth ethnographic study, Fried Amilivia examines the intergenerational transmission of collective memories of the Uruguayan dictatorship (1973-84) in the context of public policies of denial of these memories and impunity for the military that committed crimes against humanity. [HLAS Contributor: Sol Prieto]

HLAS annotation: This study examines the slave trade, slavery, and black identity formation in Río de la Plata in the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. The book pays special attention to the trans-Atlantic and intra-American slave trades to Río de la Plata, with emphasis on the connection between Río de la Plata and Rio de Janeiro. The author argues for the emergence of multifaceted black identities based on shared experiences of enslaved Africans, ranging from the middle passage to serving in the military, to participation in religious brotherhoods. Furthermore, the monograph explores the written and musical production of people of African descent. This is a mandatory book for students of the slave trade and enslaved and free blacks in Río de la Plata in the age of Atlantic revolutions. [HLAS Contributor: Fabricio Prado]

HLAS annotation: A fascinating new direction in the study of women and gender in the Río de la Plata, Ehrick's book explores the pivotal role that women played in radio broadcasting during the 1930s and 1940s. An innovative way for women to have a voice - literally - female broadcasters covered a variety of content and formats. Ehrick highlights some of the most interesting - Montevideo's all-women radio station, Niní Marshall's wildly popular comedy broadcasts, and the political broadcasts of Eva Duarte de Perón. Located at the nexus of gender and sound studies, this is a book that will appeal to a wide array of scholars. [HLAS Contributor: Mollie Nouwen]

HLAS annotation: This is a fascinating study of the attractions and "dangers" that the printed word represented among the largely unlettered inhabitants of La Plata during the 19th century. Acree, whose earlier edited work on literacy as a catalyst for nationalism in the hemisphere was well-received, here casts his net into a somewhat smaller pond but he does so in a deeper and more profound way. He argues that print culture (books, documents, newspapers, political advertisements, and even postage stamps) not only recorded national progress in Argentina and Uruguay, it helped to stimulate it. Analyses of print culture traditionally have been subordinated into broader discussions of intellectual history, but here Acree goes a good deal further in his considerations. He argues, for example, that in publicizing and celebrating national greatness, the covers of cigarette boxes and picture postcards must receive equal billing with the poetry of Hilario Ascasubi and the essays of Sarmiento and Rodó. This is an entirely convincing point, and if his text alone conveys only part of the argument, Acree's inclusion of images from the era reinforces his conclusions in a satisfactory way. The result is an excellent study. [HLAS Contributor: Thomas Whigham]