In the edges of literature: edition and study of 18th. century Guatemalan (para)literary texts

Abstract

This study examines the historical relevance of some texts written in Guatemala in the eighteenth century. We explain, in the detail, the criteria used to determine their linguistic value as well as the methodology employed to edit them. We also explain why these texts are worth studying despite the conception that the literary production in colonial Central America is not only limited in amount but also of low quality. Although we consider these texts to be paraliterary, they contain some undeniable esthetical values which are worth analyzing. We aimed to retrieve and edit the aforementioned text to make them accessible to other researchers interested in their study. Finally, we describe some future research suggestions