ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the mechanisms, power structures and values that underpinned the formation of the twentieth-century Mexican literary canon. It focuses on the creation of a Mexican national literature reflects the important role culture has played in post-revolutionary nation-building. The value of studying national literatures has been brought into question by approaches which emphasize broader spheres of influence and wider networks of exchange. The book examines and interrogates the gendered process of nation-building through literature which led to the formation of the twentieth-century Mexican canon. It evaluates the impact of the Premio Nacional de Literatura on the formation of the Mexican canon by examining the government decree which created the prize and its first winner, El indio by Gregorio López y Fuentes. The chapter addresses some of the problems which arise from canon formation being tied to nation-building.
