THE PLAINS (Charco Press, £11.99) by Argentinian author and poet Federico Falco, tells the story of a gay man who moves from the bustling city of Buenos Aires to the small rural town of Zapiola to escape a difficult breakup.

The protagonist reflects on the difference between city and country life, emphasising the profound sense of time in the countryside compared to the city. Falco, beautifully translated by Jennifer Croft, structures the book like a farming calendar, detailing the protagonist’s monthly activities in tending to a rented plot of land, nurturing vegetables and flowers, and immersing himself in the diverse landscape of the Pampas.

The narrative intertwines his rural experiences with memories of building a home with his boyfriend Ciro in the city, creating an almost idyllic urban paradise that eventually comes to an abrupt end. It also tells the narrator’s family history, interspersed with evocative literary quotes.

As the protagonist seeks solace in the countryside, he finds profound truths in the rhythms of farming and the hard beauty of the Pampas. “The pampas are harsh, demanding landscape, not at all bucolic. The black night. The hard land. The wind. The heat of the sun without shade. Without relief... The plains are hard, the country is cruel,” writes the protagonist, often mirroring the landscape surrounding him with his inner emotions. 

The novel delves into themes of self-discovery, the pain of lost love, and the complexities of gay relationships, offering a profoundly poetic reflection on the human experience. Falco’s work has garnered critical acclaim, winning the Medife Prize in Argentina and receiving recognition as a runner-up for the Herralde Prize in Spain. Ultimately, The Plains is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of love, loss, and personal growth.

Hebe Uhart had a rare quality among writers: she could write about the most unusual things and experiences in oblique and fascinating ways, uncovering unique oral expressions and striking characters. A Question of Belonging (Archipelago Books,  £15.99) with an illuminating introduction by Mariana Enriquez, is a collection of chronicles that spans from Buenos Aires to La Paz, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Cartagena in Colombia, the Argentinean provinces of Formosa and Corrientes, Asuncion in Paraguay, Rio de Janeiro, the jungles of Lima, and back to the author’s city of Buenos Aires. 

One of my preferred chronicles is New Year’s In Almagro, where the writer humorously and incisively describes how she spent the end of the year waiting at the traditional restaurant of Las Violetas, a classic in her neighbourhood of Almagro. Another favourite is Inside The Circus, a chronicle about a family who, for generations, worked in a circus, including a former trapeze artist who used to walk the tightrope with an umbrella. In My Bed Away From Home, Uhart narrates a stay in the hospital only months before her death, presenting a moving portrait of hospital life in Buenos Aires, with its people and patients, told endearingly.

Natalia Litvinova was born in Belarus and emigrated with her family to Argentina at ten years old. Her poetry collection Basket of Braids (Shearsman Books, £12.95) is translated by Kelsi Vanada.

These short, powerful poems merge everyday life in rural Lithuania with folk tales and family memories that have dark undertones, as in a poem about the poet’s grandmother and her difficult life in the fields: “Grandmother tries/ to stick her thread/ through the needle./ A layer/ of old skin/ protects her./ She doesn’t bleed/ when she pricks herself./ At night the sky/ is a pit/ where unthreaded/ needles/ shine.” There are also strange pigs, rare black roses, horsehair braids of sacrificed horses and curses “that passed through/ the women/ in my family.” This is a hypnotic collection studded with gems.

Last Poems (Shearsman Books, £14.95) by Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro, the creator and most significant exponent of the literary movement called Creacionismo. It is translated by the indefatigable Tony Fraser.

This is Huidobro’s final collection, assembled by Manuela, his eldest daughter following his death, and one of quiet, almost prophetic beauty. It includes epic poems such as Poetry Is A Celestial Assault, Monument To The Sea, and Time-Space, the latter where the poet travels like a god-like figure through the skies and beyond: “I was above time/ Seated above time/ Like a star of flowers and volcanoes/ Perhaps like a god or better still a poet.”