Contrapuntos X: East

In this anniversary edition of Contrapuntos, the tenth one, we aim to offer a glimpse (although this endeavor is always audacious) into the voices and pens residing in the United States. Their location (according to geographical regions that serve as reading guides rather than mere labels) constitutes a simultaneous dialogue, a geography of literary texts and critical reflections that represent a current (though not exhaustive by any means) sample of the vast talent and the relevance of the themes addressed by the authors.

Language, memories, longing, and the challenges that shape the daily lives of those who physically distance themselves from their familiar environment to settle in a new place are the raw materials (whether autobiographical or metaphorical) that underpin the texts and art gathered in this edition. Thus, we have decided to present the content in a volume that brings together authors from the Southeast and Northeast of the United States under the title of "East." Furthermore, our intention is for the order of the contents and the themes addressed to represent the stages of a journey between borders, coordinates, and memories, using the blank page as a cartography upon which the suggested topics of each reading are recorded.

In this manner, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and parallel routes serve as the four coordinates through which the reader can navigate, pause, return, and find guidance. The poetic section begins precisely with the image of a journey, through poetic voices that inhabit or describe places through imagination, memory, and present reality. The transformation that these journeys entail in the perception of migrants is examined in the non-fiction section through socioeconomic, gender, and linguistic criticism, as the authors provide texts that invite reflection on how survival in another country and under different conditions entails being aware of one’s own identity and the impact our actions have on our surroundings. On the other hand, the "fiction" section offers a series of stories in which characters face various trials in extreme contexts, compelling the reader to examine the body and memory as extensions of other geographical, political, or social spaces.

For ten years, the editorial team of Contrapuntos has worked to provide a space for non-conventional, heterogeneous, and, to some extent, more independent literary voices (without compromising their quality) to reach more readers worldwide. At the same time, this work offers readers truly relevant content that would otherwise be marginalized in a tortuous publishing endeavor. Of course, the fruits of this decade of work would not have been possible without the contributions of numerous guest editors, writers, poets, storytellers, and visual artists who have believed from the beginning in the value and importance of supporting these "cultural resistances" in the face of a market that, for various reasons, tends to homogenize current artistic offerings.

Let us celebrate, then, that the texts gathered here have reached your reader’s hands, and we hope you find among them lines that resonate and contribute to expanding the literary borders as manifestations of human experiences."

Lucía Eugenia Orellana (Guayaquil, Ecuador) has published five poetry books, including "Extrañamiento" (Valparaíso Ediciones, Spain, 2023) and "Longevity River" (Plan B Press, United States, 2019), recently reprinted. Her poems, stories, and translations have appeared in the "Anthology of The Americas Poetry Festival of New York 2019," "Tales of Two Cities: Singapore and Hong Kong," and other publications, as well as literary magazines like Tin House Online, Carve, and The Bitter Oleander. Lucía has participated in The Americas Poetry Festival and the International Book Fair in New York, as well as literary festivals and readings in Bali and Singapore. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Loyola University Chicago and has taught at the Universidad Católica de Guayaquil. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, where she was a visiting professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Aimée Mendoza Sánchez (Oaxaca, 1993) holds a Bachelor's degree in Hispanic Literature from UAM-Iztapalapa, Mexico, and a triple Master's degree in European Literary Cultures from Unibo/Italy, AUTH/Greece, and Unistra/France. She has published narrative texts and research articles in Latin American and European journals and anthologies such as Almiar, Revista de la Universidad de México, Ágora (Colmex), Signos Literarios, Fotocinema, among others. She received the Lydia Santiago Short Story Prize (2017) from the College of Classical Literature at UNAM. In addition to academic research, she has collaborated on literary projects as a co-editor at Literalia Publishing House and specializes in content localization for digital platforms. Currently, she is a nomad between Greece and Mexico, navigating among five languages.

Marcos Pico Rentería (Mexico, 1981) is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at the Defense Language Institute. His research focuses on Latin American literature, particularly the development of short stories and essays in Mexican production during the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. His main interests include the Mexican literary group "Crack" and the essayistic beginnings of Jorge Volpi. He served as the editor of "Nueve délficos. Ensayos sobre Lezama" (2014), published by Verbum (Madrid). Several of his stories, interviews, articles, and poems have appeared in literary and academic journals such as Conexos, La Santa Crítica, Revista Crítica, Nuestra Aparente Rendición, Eñe: Revista para leer, Vozed, Digo.palabra.txt, Confluencia, Caleidoscopio, Campos de Plumas, Carátula, as well as in anthologies such as "Alebrije de palabras" (BUAP, 2013), "Pelota Jara" (2014), "Testigos de Ausencias" (2018), "Hostos Review" (2019), among others.

Marcos Pico Rentería (Mexico, 1981) is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at the Defense Language Institute. His research focuses on Latin American literature, particularly the development of short stories and essays in Mexican production during the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. His main interests include the Mexican literary group "Crack" and the essayistic beginnings of Jorge Volpi. He served as the editor of "Nueve délficos. Ensayos sobre Lezama" (2014), published by Verbum (Madrid). Several of his stories, interviews, articles, and poems have appeared in literary and academic journals such as Conexos, La Santa Crítica, Revista Crítica, Nuestra Aparente Rendición, Eñe: Revista para leer, Vozed, Digo.palabra.txt, Confluencia, Caleidoscopio, Campos de Plumas, Carátula, as well as in anthologies such as "Alebrije de palabras" (BUAP, 2013), "Pelota Jara" (2014), "Testigos de Ausencias" (2018), "Hostos Review" (2019), among others.