Broadly based on the theme of human rights in Latin America, Writing Toward Hope is an anthology of contemporary literature—fiction, essays, plays, poems—by some of the most prominent and well-known Latin American writers of the 20th century. Each chapter is devoted to a particular theme, such as torture, exile, and women's roles in Latin America. The selections capture the creativity and expression borne out of the various social and political struggles that took place in Latin America during the 20th century. Writers such as Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende, Nancy Morejón, Jacobo Timerman, Reinaldo Arenas, Elena Poniatowska, and Ariel Dorfman weigh in on issues of human rights and social justice in Latin America today.