Conversando con literatura by Paola Bianco (review)

Conversando con literatura is a collection of twenty literary texts (short stories, poetry, songs) presented in fourteen thematic units that touch on the following topics: childhood memories; beauty and youth; love, marriage, and betrayal; women of today and yesterday; domestic violence; ethnic-racial diversity; individuals and their masks; immigration; history, literature, and art; human rights; euthanasia; religion in Latin America; nature and the environment; and technological development. The book is intended for advanced-level undergraduate courses (third or fourth year) that focus on literature or conversation. To this end, each unit contains a variety of activities to engage the students as they read the text, providing ample opportunities to discuss and write about related topics as well as improve their knowledge of vocabulary and key grammar points. The readings themselves are very diverse. Some are common in other collections, such as Nicolás Guillén’s “Balada de los dos abuelos” or Alfonsina Storni’s “Voy a dormir.” Others come from lesser known female authors, such as Meira Delmar’s “Regresos” and Gioconda Belli’s “Dios me hizo mujer.” The appendices in the back of the book also contain grammar explanations for the verb tenses (preterite, imperfect, present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive) and verb contrasts (ser/estar, saber/conocer) covered in the text. The topics addressed are also suitable for upper-level high school courses (fourth year or AP), especially as instructors address the learning objectives of interpersonal, interpretative, and presentational communication, as outlined by The College Board.

The variety of activities included in the text allows language instructors to pick and choose the exercises that best fit the needs of each class. The exercises that follow the literary text are particularly suitable for facilitating class discussion and could be modified for use as pre-reading, as well as during- and post-reading activities. Many of the readings themselves are conducive to generating class discussion as they touch on topics and themes that may differ from the cultural norms of the learners’ native language.

That being said, the variety of activities could also be a hindrance. There are so many options that the text appears to be more of a potpourri than a text with a clear focus. Furthermore, some activities may require modification. For example, some of the pictures provided at the beginning of each unit do not activate the students’ prior knowledge about the topic as much as other questions found later in the unit might, such as those found in the section Más allá del texto or Para discutir. Additionally, the inconsistent use of Spanish and English in the glosses found throughout the text may be confusing for some learners. Finally, the expository essays included in each unit correspond to the topic under study, but do not focus directly on how the topic relates to the literary readings that follow.

Despite the variety of activities provided, it is possible that language instructors and coordinators will need to supplement this text with additional materials to generate interest and personalize the topics under study. This text would be ideal as a supplement to another text; however, as a stand-alone text, it does not seem to provide enough grammar or vocabulary activities to facilitate ample practice outside of the class discussion.