Many of her books and articles present for discussion the mystical literature and religious practices of Spain, renaissance and medieval, i.e., both Christian and Muslim. She acknowledges the influence of the early 20th century Spanish Arabist, the Rev. Miguel Asín Palacios, among others. In particular, she has followed traces of the trail that show a fruitful interaction between Muslims and Christians in Iberia, e.g., as it affected San Juan de la Cruz and Santa Teresa de Ávila. Evidently, this trail continues on, eventually leading also to the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. She has also done work on the literature of Puerto Rico. Often serving as a visiting professor, she has taught in at various universities in South America, North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Her works have been translated into French, English, German, Dutch, Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. In November 1998, the University of Puerto Rico held a Congress in honor of Luce López-Baralt and her sister, also an academic, Mercedes López-Baralt. Professor Luce López-Baralt received her Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, her Masters in Romance Literature from New York University, and her Doctorate in Romance Literature from Harvard University. She also did post-doctorate work at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and at the American University of Beirut.
Selected publications
Books
San Juan de la Cruz y el Islam. Estudio sobre la filiaciones semíticas de su literatura mística, second edition.
Asedios a lo Indecible - San Juan de la Cruz canta al éxtasis transformante.
A shared symbolism, translated by Andrew Hurley; prior publication: Part II & Part III in Iqbal Review ;.
El Viejo maravilloso de Buluqiya a los confines del universo, narrative.
A zaga de tu huella: La ensenanza de las lenguas semíticas en Salamanca en tiempos de San Juan de la Cruz.
Other Books:
Collection: Mélanges, études réunies et préfacées par Luce López-Baralt, edited by Abdeljelil Temimi.
Collection/Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt, Mercedes López-Baralt, & William Mejias Lopez, Moradas de la Paloma. Homenaje a Luce y Mercedes López Baralt, 2 volumes, 1890 pages.
Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt & Lorenzo Piera Delgado, El sol a medianoche. La experiencia mística. Tradición y actualidad ; a comparative study universal in scope.
Translation: Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Nuri de Bagdad, Moradas de los corazones ; i.e., Stations of the Heart, said to have been an source of the mystical symbolism of seven concentric castles employed by St. Teresa of Avila; also see López-Baralt, Islam in Spanish Literature at 107–115, esp. 110.
Editors : San Juan de la Cruz, Obra completa, 2 volumes.
, republished: Historia de Al-Andalus, Boletín 65 ;.
republished: Historia de Al-Andalus, Boletín 58 ;
*Translated by M. McCabe as: "The Supreme Pen of Cide Hamete Benengeli in Don Quixote" Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 30: 508-518.
"Saint John of the Cross and Ibn 'Arabi: The Heart or Qalb as the Translucid and Ever-Changing Mirror of God" in Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 28: 57-90.
"Borges o la mística del silencio: Lo que había al otro lado del Zahir" in Jorge LuisBorges. Pensamiento y saber en el siglo XX, edited by A. de Toro and F. de Toro, at 29–70.
"Cuando España se llamaba Sefarad" in La Torre, 7: 503-527.
"Estudio introductorio" to: Miguel Asín Palacios, Sadilies y Alumbrados at ix-lxvii.
"Historia de un hombre que prefirió la muerte al adulterio" in Revista de estudios hispánicos, v.12.
"Santa Teresa y el Islam: Los símbolos del vino del éxtasis, la apretura y la anchura, el jardín del alma, el árbol místico, el gusano de seda, los siete castillos concéntricos" in Ephemerides Carmeliticae XXXIII: 629-678.
"Simbología mística musulmana en San Juan de la Cruz y en Santa Teresa" in Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica XXX: 21-91.
"Los lenguajes infinitos de San Juan de la Cruz e Ibn 'Arabi de Murcia" in Actas del VI Congreso Internacional de Hispanistas at 173–177.
"Huellas del Islam en San Juan de la Cruz: en torno a la 'Llama de amor viva' y la espiritualidad musulmana išraquí" in Vuelta 45: 5-11.
"Anonimia y posible filiación espiritual musulmana del soneto 'No me mueve mi Dios, para quererte'" in Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica XXIV: 243-266.
Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt & Marta Elena Venier, "Literatura hispano-semítica comparada" in Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica XXX.