Thanks to the O'Grady Collection, the Department of Special Collections possesses a substantial collection of works by 20th-century writers from the Southern Cone nations of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The purpose of the collection is to document the literary development of the region through the comprehensive acquisition of works published by influential writers, emphasizing first and rare editions.

Writers currently represented in the collection include:

• Benedetti, Mario
• Bioy Casares, Adolfo
• Borges, Jorge Luis
• Fernandez, Macedonio
• Girondo, Oliverio
• Güiraldes, Ricardo
• Lugones, Leopoldo
• Mujica Lainez, Manuel
• Ocampo, Silvina
• Onetti, Juan Carlos
• Zorrilla de San Martín, Juan

Writers to be added in the future include:

• Arlt, Roberto
• Mistral, Gabriela (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga)
• Neruda, Pablo
• Ocampo, Victoria
• Roa Bastos, Augusto Antonio

In addition to works by individual writers, the Southern Cone Literature collection includes runs of major literary journals, notably Martín Fierro, Proa, Sur, and Sintesis. Issues from nearly two hundred popular magazine titles such as El Hogar that feature pieces by or about Jorge Luis Borges are also found in the collection [view list].

The Southern Cone Literary Manuscripts Collection includes manuscript materials from many of the above writers.