El Mentidero de Comediantes

36It is to be regretted that bibliographical material frequently fails to supply the following information: a) the spelling and form of title and author as these appear on the first page of individual items within a volume, as opposed to their presentation in the general table of contents; b) the details of pagination and collation of individual items. 37The complexities of the matter are ably presented by A. Restori, in Saggi di bibliografia teatrale spagnuola (Geneva, 1927). See, also, end-note 6. The original differences between a suelta and a play from a volume or parte can be difficult to discern even in the simple cases of a suelta with a cramped style and no colophon, and a desglosada which used to be the first play of its volume. More perplexing are series of plays with pagination continuous and spanning the entire group, yet with each play bearing a complete colophon of its own. In this collection, for example , are three plays by José Fernández de Bustamante, attributed by La Barrera, p. 152(b), to his Comedias nuevas, Primera parte (Madrid, Francisco Javier Garcia, 1759), in spite of the fact recognized by La Barrera that they have individual colophons, and that the date they bear is 1758. There is also a group of plays by Lope de Vega, paged continuously, yet each with colophon and, indeed, its publisher's separate serial number — a phenomenon commented on by Ashcom, work cited, item 37 and others. (See, also, Ashcom's closing comments to item 83.) 38It is relatively easy to spot the incongruity , in a collection of works by the reasonably well documented Calderón, of plays such as: O el fraile ha de ser ladrón, o el ladrón ha de ser fraile, and Sueños hay que verdad son, both attributed by their printers to Calderón. It is impossible not to question attributions, when confronted by a 17th. century edition of No hay dicha ni desdicha hasta la muerte, stated to be by Rojas Zorrilla, and an 18th. century edition assigned by the printer, Antonio Sanz, to Mira de Amescua. Many authors and titles, however, remain poorly documented, and errors — when noticed — can be impossible to correct. 39It is fascinating to see what happens to long titles and dual authorships at the hands of Medel del Castillo, Indice general alfabético de todos los títulos de comedias . . . (Madrid, Alfonso de Mora, 1735), reprinted by J. M. Hill, Revue Hispanique, LXXV, nos. 167-8 (1929), 144-369. The reprint contains some appropriate initial words of warning. Perhaps the reader can imagine what happens to an item such as El divino catabres, S. Francisco de Paula, by Juan de Matos Fragoso and Francisco de Avellaneda.¿•¿S·* EL MENTIDERO DE COMEDIANTES Articles scheduled for the spring 1978 issue include "More on El Mártir de Madrid and La Fianza Satisfecha" by Vern G. Williamsen; "Los Prólogos de Partes IX-XX de Lope de Vega" by Thomas E. Case; "The Dramatic Use of Place in Lope de Vega's Peribáñez by P. R. K. Halkhoree; and "Alpha and Omega: Structural Framework of Aguilar 's Comedias" by John G. Weiger. * » * * The Spanish Literature I section of the 27th annual Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, October 13-15 at East Tennessee State University was devoted to "Metatheater and the Comedia." Organized by José A. Madrigal and chaired by Gustavo Godoy, the session featured the following papers: "A secreto agravio, secreta venganza: The Art of Metatheater" by William C. McCrary; "Metatheater and Lope's Castigo sin venganza" by Susan Fischer; "Lope's La quinta de Florencia : An Example of Iconic Metatheater" by Frederick de Armas; "Metateatro, Lope y Argel fingido y renegado de amor" by Alva V. Ebersole; "Fuenteovejuna y el concepto de metateatro" by José A. Madrigal; and "Metatheater: A 135 Review of Its Theory" by William R. Blue. Robert Fiore served äs Topic Moderator. * e » o The article "Venereal Disease and the Gracioso: A Look at Moreto's El desdén con el desdén," which appeared in the spring 1977 issue should have included the following notation at the close: "This paper was written for a National Endowment...