IN SEARCH OF THE PRESENT: 1990 Nobel...

IN SEARCH OF THE PRESENT: 1990 Nobel Lecture by Octavio Paz, translated by Anthony Stanton (Harvest/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: $8.95). In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, the eminent Mexican essayist, poet and critic muses on the different characteristics of North American and Latin American literature. In Mexico, “The search for modernity led us to discover our antiquity, the hidden face of the nation. . . . When they are mutually isolated, tradition stagnates and modernity vaporizes; when joined, modernity breathes life into tradition, and tradition responds by providing depth and gravity.” These reflections lead him to consider the elusive definition of “modern” and, therefore, of the present moment.