The Testimonial Imagination or, Literary Practice “After” Testimonio

Abstract

“The Testimonial Imagination” extends the discussion of Beverley and testimonio launched in the previous section to include two additional, and quite central texts of the Latin American literary tradition, Rigoberta Menchú’s testimonio, and Reinaldo Arenas’ memoir, Before Night Falls. While this section also discusses work by the Cuban-American novelist Cristina García, it shifts the geographical orientation of the larger discussion away from the Caribbean and toward Central America, specifically Guatemala, in order to trouble as well the conventional regional logics of Latinx literary studies by bringing the archipelago into more direct conversation with the isthmus.