With the new year, new leadership has arrived at the Hostos Latin American Writers Institute (LAWI) and its journal, the Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana.

Taking over as Director and new Chief Editor is Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Unit. She takes over for Hostos Distinguished Professor and celebrated international author, Isaac Goldemberg.

Based at Hostos Community College, LAWI is The City University of New York’s central advocacy and service organization for the support of the work of Latin American and Latina/Latino writers. The Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana supports literary creation and provides opportunities for publishing and the discussion of topics that are fundamental to contemporary cultural activity.

“The Latin American Writer’s Institute was created through the vision and dedication of Professor Goldemberg, and I am grateful to him for his work over the years developing the Institute, an initiative that is perfectly aligned with the college mission. I am certain under Professor Lara-Bonilla’s leadership the Institute will continue the important work of supporting Latina/Latino writers from around the world,” said Christine Mangino, Hostos Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

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.

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 frequently published in widely respected journals and anthologies.

Goldemberg founded the Institute 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 award-winning 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).

Goldemberg is thankful for the opportunity to support other writers.

“One of my greatest satisfactions as director of LAWI is the assistance that I’ve given to writers, especially emerging ones. I’ve also assisted many cultural institutions and universities in the organization of readings and literary conferences and made LAWI’s information services available to professors, journalists, reviewers, translators, editors, and publishers,” Goldemberg said.

For Goldemberg, Lara-Bonilla is the ideal person to build on this legacy because of her multifaceted experience as a writer, a professor, an essayist, and a scholar.

Lara-Bonilla is excited for the opportunity to help continue LAWI’s important work, while expanding on the languages, genres and authors published through the Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana.

“My initial focus will be on the Institute’s yearly publication of creative and critical writing, the Hostos Review/Revista Hostosiana, which I see as a ‘literary feast,’” Lara-Bonilla said. “I am delighted to inherit the quality work done by Isaac as former Chief Editor, as well as by the guest editors who have made the journal such a rich platform for readers and writers of so many different backgrounds. This literary exchange is already happening, and everyone—including writers, students, local, national and international scholars—are invited to join!”
 
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for a half-century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.

 Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.