The Ethics of Latin American Literary Criticism


Book Description

This volume looks at the shifting role of aesthetics in Latin American literature and literary studies, focusing on the concept of 'ethical responsibility' within these practices. The contributing authors examine the act of reading in its new globalized context of postcolonial theory and gender and performance studies.




Blacks in Hispanic Literature


Book Description

A landmark study in the field of Afro-Hispanism, Blacks in Hispanic Literature is a collection of fourteen essays by African and Diasporan scholars such as Carter G. Woodson, Martha Cobb, Adalberto Ortiz, and Lemuel Johnson, who examine the Black as author and subject in Spanish, Caribbean, and Latin American literatures.




Herencia


Book Description

A major anthology of Hispanic writing in the U.S., ranging from the early Spanish explorers to the present day.




Hispanic Immigrant Literature


Book Description

Immigration has been one of the basic realities of life for Latino communities in the United States since the nineteenth century. It is one of the most important themes in Hispanic literature, and it has given rise to a specific type of literature while also defining what it means to be Hispanic in the United States. Immigrant literature uses predominantly the language of the homeland; it serves a population united by that language, irrespective of national origin; and it solidifies and furthers national identity. The literature of immigration reflects the reasons for emigrating, records—both orally and in writing—the trials and tribulations of immigration, and facilitates adjustment to the new society while maintaining links with the old society. Based on an archive assembled over the past two decades by author Nicolás Kanellos's Recovering the U. S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project, this comprehensive study is one of the first to define this body of work. Written and recorded by people from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, the texts presented here reflect the dualities that have characterized the Hispanic immigrant experience in the United States since the mid-nineteenth century, set always against a longing for homeland.




U.S. Latino Literature


Book Description

In the past ten years, literature by U.S. Latinos has gained an extraordinary public currency and has engendered a great deal of interest among educators. Because of the increase in numbers of Latinos in their classrooms, teachers have recognized the benefits of including works by such important writers as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Rudolfo Anaya in the curriculum. Without a guide, introducing courses on U.S. Latino literature or integrating individual works into the general courses on American Literature can be difficult for the uninitiated. While some critical sources for students and teachers are available, none are dedicated exclusively to this important body of writing. To fill the gap, the editors of this volume commissioned prominent scholars in the field to write 18 essays that focus on using U.S. Latino literature in the classroom. The selection of the subject texts was developed in conjunction with secondary school teachers who took part in the editors' course. This resultant volume focuses on major works that are appropriate for high school and undergraduate study including Judith Ortiz Cofer's The Latin Deli, Piri Thomas' Down These Mean Streets, and Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. Each chapter in this Critical Guide provides pertinent biographical background on the author as well as contextual information that aids in understanding the literary and cultural significance of the work. The most valuable component of the critical essays, the Analysis of Themes and Forms, helps the reader understand the thematic concerns raised by the work, particularly the recurring issues of language expression and cultural identity, assimilation, and intergenerational conflicts. Each essay is followed by specific suggestions for teaching the work with topics for classroom discussion. Further enhancing the value of this work as a teaching tool are the selected bibliographies of criticism, further reading, and other related sources that complete each chapter. Teachers will also find a Sample Course Outline of U.S. Latino Literature which serves as guide for developing a course on this important subject.




Short Fiction By Hispanic Writers of the United States


Book Description

Short Fiction by Hispanic Writers of the United States includes representative works by the most celebrated Cuban-American, Mexican-American and Puerto Rican writers of short fiction in the country. The texts cover a full range of expression, themes and styles of US Hispanics and are introduced by informative entries which place the authors in their cultural and historic frameworks. In these pages, the reader will not find picturesque, folksy or touristy renditions of Hispanic culture. Instead, Short Fiction by Hispanic Writers of the United States brings together works that are clear, incisive and authentic representations of Hispanic life in the United States. The selections are as diverse as Hispanic culture itself and as varied as the personalities of their authors. Here are Max Mart’nezÕs outrageous challenge of racial and social structures, Roberta Fern‡ndezÕs construction of Hispanic womenÕs aesthetics, Roberto Fern‡ndezÕs subversion of the English language, Nicholasa MohrÕs humorous attack on patriarchy, and Judith Ortiz CoferÕs poetic evocation of childhood and biculturalism. This collection engages in aesthetic and cultural experience that will result in a re-defined canon and a new identity for the country as whole. They are re-focusing our perception of ourselves as a people and a culture. The pressure and the commitment to do so, of course, make for excellence and innovation in literary expression. It also makes for enjoyable reading. Short Fiction by Hispanic Writers of the United States is recommended for the general fiction reader and for use in high school and college literature classes in search of a multicultural perspective.




A Translational Turn


Book Description

No contemporary development underscores the transnational linkage between the United States and Spanish-language América today more than the wave of in-migration from Spanish-language countries during the 1980s and 1990s. This development, among others, has made clear what has always been true, that the United States is part of Spanish-language América. Translation and oral communication from Spanish to English have been constant phenomena since before the annexation of the Mexican Southwest in 1848. The expanding number of counter-national translations from English to Spanish of Latinx fictional narratives by mainstream presses between the 1990s and 2010 is an indication of significant change in the relationship. A Translational Turn explores both the historical reality of Spanish to English translation and the “new” counter-national English to Spanish translation of Latinx narratives. More than theorizing about translation, this book underscores long-standing contact, such as code-mixing and bi-multilingualism, between the two languages in U.S. language and culture. Although some political groups in this country persist in seeing and representing this country as having a single national tongue and community, the linguistic ecology of both major cities and the suburban periphery, here and in the global world, is bilingualism and multilingualism.




Latina and Latino Voices in Literature


Book Description

This revised edition of an award-winning resource celebrates the lives and works of 35 Latina and Latino authors who write for today's young readers. Expanded to include 12 additional authors, updated information on the original 23 authors profiled, and 135 new titles, this comprehensive reference tool helps teachers, librarians, and parents stay current on one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary literature. Both established and emerging voices are profiled. Personal quotes and photographs introduce each biographical essay, presenting information gathered through interviews, personal communications, and research. A complete list of all books and works written by the author is included along with publication information. Annotations are provided for most of the titles, along with information on major themes, awards won, and recommended age levels. Evaluating Books for Bias provides helpful guidelines for examining and selecting books from a pluralistic perspective. Appendices offer further helpful information about the field, including special awards honoring books by Latinas and Latinos, a calendar of holidays and special days celebrated by the Latino community, and listings of related resources and organizations. The author has also compiled ideas for classroom activities and ways for librarians to extend the literary experience. A title index and extensive topic index—including themes, curricular areas, and genres—help in planning story sessions and study units. This is a multipurpose resource for anyone who wants to help young readers connect with contemporary literature in a meaningful way.




Literature and Liminality


Book Description

Recent literary studies and related disciplines have given much attention to phenomena that seem to occupy more or less permanently eccentric positions in our experience. Gustavo Perez Firmat examines three of these marginal or liminal phenomena—paying particular attention to the distinction between "center" and "periphery"—as they appear in Hispanic literature. Carnival (the traditional festival in which normal behavior is overturned),choteo(an insulting form of humor), and disease are three liminal entities discussed. Less an attempt to frame a general theory of such "liminalities" than an effort to demonstrate the interpretive power of the liminality concept, this work challenges conventional boundaries of critical sense and offers new insights into a variety of questions, among them the notion of convertability in psychoanalysis and the relation of New World culture to its European forebears.




Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage


Book Description

This volume of essays is the seventh in the series produced under the auspices of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project at the University of Houston. This ongoing and comprehensive program seeks to locate, identify, preserve, and disseminate the literary contributions of U.S. Latinos from the Spanish Colonial Period to contemporary times. The eleven essays included in this volume examine key issues relevant to the exploration of Hispanic literary production in the United States, including cultural identity, exile thought, class and women's issues. Originally presented at the ninth biennial conference of the Recovery Project, "Encuentros y Reencuentros: Making Common Ground," held in in collaboration with the Western Historical Association's annual meeting in 2006, the essays are divided into four sections: "History, Culture and Ideology;" "Women's Voices: Gender, Politics and Culture;" "Amparo Ruiz de Burton: Literature and History;" and "Language Representation and Translation." The work of scholars involved in making available the written record of Hispanic populations in the U.S. is critical for any comprehensive understanding of the U.S. experience, particularly in the West where the country's history is intricately linked with that of Hispanic peoples since the sixteenth century. In their introduction, editors Gerald Poyo and Tomas Ybarra-Frausto outline the goals and challenges of the Recovery Project to promote scholarly collaboration in the integration of research and recovered Hispanic texts in various disciplines, including history and Latina/o studies.