Named with bitter irony, artist Laureana Toledo’s project Order and Progress explores the environmental devastation of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the area of Mexico in which Laureana spent her very early childhood years.
Her anthology The Waste Land draws together writings that question the idea of progress through development and confront the exploitation of this geo-politically sensitive area. The book will form the starting point for the conversation, and copies will be available to purchase on the evening.
Toledo will be joined in conversation by writer and editor Lucy Foster and Mexican poet Julio Trujillo
Lucy Foster completed her PhD at Cambridge, with placements in Oaxaca, her research focussed on the art and cultural history of Mexico’s coastal areas in relation to histories of conquest, slavery and vulnerable ecosystems.
Julio Trujillo was publisher of the Alfaguara imprint at Penguin Random House in Mexico. His most recent poetry collection Todavía will be published by Dharma Books this summer.