Latina Writers

by Ilan Stavans

Overview

Latina literature is one of the fastest growing areas of American literature today, and the impact Latina writers have had on the literary scene is undeniable. This volume features the most significant articles including peer-review essays, interviews, and reviews to bring together the best scholarship on Latina writers ever compiled. Learn about these authors' lives and extraordinary careers, as well as the social and political issues their works address.

10 signed articles, essays, and interviews are included in the volume, which encourage readers to examine Latina writers from a wide variety of theoretical perspectives, including feminism, postmodernism, postcolonialism, gender, border, linguistic, and pan-American studies. Also featured is an introduction by Ilan Stavans, one of the foremost authorities on Latino culture, to provide historical background and cultural context and suggestions for further reading to aid students in their research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313348068
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/2008
Series:	The Ilan Stavans Library of Latino Civilization
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	148
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Ilan Stavans has been called the czar of Latino culture in the United States by the New York Times and Latin America's liveliest and boldest critic and most innovative cultural enthusiast by the Washington Post. Stavans is the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and the recipient of numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Latino Literature Prize, the Antonia Pantoja Award, Chile's Presidential Medal, and the Ruben Dario Distinction. He earned an Emmy nomination as host of the PBS show La Plaza: Conversations with Ilan Stavans. He has taught at Columbia University, Oberlin College, and Smith College, among other institutions. He is the author of numerous titles including Encyclopedia Latina (2005) and the forthcoming Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latin Music.

Table of Contents

Contents
Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. Appreciations
Saddling La Gringa: Major Themes in the Works of Latina Writers
Chicana Feminist Criticism
What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Fat: The Language of Food in Latina Literature
New Ways of Telling: Latinas' Narratives of Exile and Returban
Gloria Anzaldas Queer Mestisaje
Form over Content
II.Testimonios
Between the Milkman and the Fax Machine: Challenges to Women Writers in the Caribbean
Attempting Perfection: An Interview with Judith Ortiz Cofer
Write These Messages That Come
And Frida Looks Back: The Art of Latina/o Queer Heroics
Conversations with Ilan Stavans
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Editor and Contributors

Editorial Reviews

This collection of 11 essays and interviews examines the craft and themes within the works of a variety of Latina authors….This volume will best serve serious students of Latina literature from the past 20 years.” —School Library Jourbanal

“Latina Writers is a collection of 11 essays and interviews that examine the craft and themes in the works of several Latina authors of diverse heritages who trace their roots to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Gloria Anzaldua, the Chicana author and critic, is the subject of several essays, and the book includes interviews with Judith Ortiz Cofer and Esmeralda Santiago. The essays address such themes as feminism, postmodernism, postcolonialism, gender, the border, linguistics, images of food, and perspectives on being queer and Latina.” —MultiCultural Review

“Students of literature and culture will find this volume interesting. Academic Libraries supporting Latino studies, women's studies and comparative literature programs will want to add it to their collections.” —REFORMA Newsletter

From the Publisher

Adult/High School

This collection of 11 essays and interviews examines the craft and themes within the works of a variety of Latina authors. The selections offer various perspectives and range from J. Zeff's 2002 essay "What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Fat: The Language of Food in Latina Literature" to a 2005 interview with Judith Ortiz Cofer. The authors discussed include Rosario Morales, Cherríe Moraga, Ana Castillo, and Ortiz Cofer. While the majority of the pieces are available elsewhere, the book will prove handy for students looking for information on writers such as Julia Alvarez and Gloria Anzaldúa, who are mentioned in multiple selections. In addition to scholarly vocabulary and the jargon of literary criticism, readers must also have a sound background in the works being discussed. Of particular interest is a somewhat scathing commentary on Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street in Ilan Stavans's "Sandra Cisneros: Form over Content." This volume will best serve serious students of Latina literature from the past 20 years.-Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD

School Library Journal