Life and Literature of the Pampas

In an interesting illustration of the general American colonial turning from any mere imitation of European literary models to the utilization of local materials in the creation of national literatures, Edward Larocque Tinker traces the development of the gaucho theme in Argentina and Uruguay. Chapters on the gaucho in verse, on the stage, and in prose are enriched with biographical details about the authors and preceded by a description of the gaucho himself and of the life he led. A brief bibliography of gaucho literature and a checklist of a few dictionaries of Americanisms conclude this useful and well-written summary account. It should be welcomed not only by students of Latin American literature but by the general reader as well.