“Because of my reputation as a scholar who has written about Honduran literature, I was contacted by Greenwood Press to write a book on contemporary Honduran culture. I was happy to take on the challenge because I felt it was a way of saying thank you to so many people in Honduras who have helped me over the years as I conducted research there,” Gold said.

“I wanted to write a book that would explore the extraordinary efforts of so many writers, artists and performers who create art with very limited resources. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere but its oral tradition and indigenous history and cultures are rich and varied,” she said.

Gold incorporates this contemporary cultural consciousness in her treatment of Honduras’s regional and linguistic diversity as well as in her descriptions of Honduras’s indigenous communities. Key elements of the work include a look at national identity and cultural diversity, as well as an in-depth study of indigenous Honduras. Other chapters examine religion, as well as daily routines, cuisine, dress, media, sports, festivals, literature and oral storytelling, traditional crafts, visual arts, and music and dance.

Gold holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic languages and literature from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and has taught at UNH since 1995.