The Floating Borderlands: Twenty-Five Years of U.S. Hispanic Literature

by Lauro Flores (Editor)

Overview

This book celebrates the emergence of a potent force on the American literary scene: the coming of age of contemporary Hispanic writers. The Americas Review—the pioneering journal of Hispanic literary arts, which has nurtured the early careers of many now-famous authors—celebrates its 25th anniversary with this anthology of some of the best fiction and poetry from its pages.

The collection is truly representative of the diverse regional and national backgrounds that have helped forge a creative community across the continent. The works presented here are divided into three parts, reflecting important chronological landmarks as well as a more subtle evolution of mature craftsmanship. “Nationhood Messengers” experimented with vernacular forms and helped to define the flourishing of cultural identity for Chicanos, Nuyoricans, and other major groups within the Latino community in the 1970s. “Memory Makers” moved to the forefront in the 1980s with polished works that have to varying degrees been embraced by the American cultural mainstream and enjoyed considerable commercial success. The voices of the “New Navigators of the Floating Borderlands” are just beginning to be heard, but they are already making contributions that will further transform the literary milieu.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295977461
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	09/01/1998
Pages:	446
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

What People are Saying About This

Julián Olivares

The Floating Borderlands will be an important reference point in the American cultural landscape.

Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano

A valuable contribution to research and teaching in making an anthology available that is Latina/o in scope.

Yvonne Yarbro—Bejarano

A valuable contribution to research and teaching in making an anthology available that is Latina/o in scope.

Yvonne Yarbro—Bejarano

A valuable contribution to research and teaching in making an anthology available that is Latina/o in scope.

Julián Olivares

The Floating Borderlands will be an important reference point in the American cultural landscape.

Editorial Reviews

The pioneering journal of Hispanic literary arts, which has nurtured the early careers of many now-famous authors -- celebrates its 25th anniversary with this anthology of some of the best fiction, poetry, and visual art from its pages.

Americas Review

Since 1972, the Americas Review (formerly Revista Chicano-Riquena) has presented prose, verse, essays and visual art by Latinos living in the U.S.; this anthology celebrates the magazine's 25th birthday by reprinting work from its pages. TAR editor Flores divides her 27 prose writers and 52 poets into three stages meant to illustrate the development of Latino writing, from early concerns with group representation and political impact to more recent formal experiments. First-generation writers like Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, Tomas Rivera and Lucha Corpi strove to unify and engage Hispanic cultures through literature; some of them wrote in Spanish, in forms called "estampas" (brief sketches). Rudolfo Anaya, Sheila Ortiz-Taylor, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Pat Mora and Alurista produced autobiographical works that code-switched effortlessly between English and Spanish. Second-generation writers like Julia Alvarez, Denise Chavez, Alberto Rios and Ana Castillo later achieved broader recognition; their early work, reprinted here, demonstrates both their craft and sophistication, and their awareness of audiences both Latino and Anglo. Flores calls the third generation of U.S. Latino writers "New Navigators of the Floating Borderlands"; Kathleen Alcala, Sandra Benitez, Rane Arroyo and their coevals use their expanded technical resources to describe familiar elements of the U.S. Hispanic experience: family, language, inheritance, displacement, immigration issues, gender, myth, citylife. Readers will appreciate the breadth of Flores's selections. Others will regret the absence of Sandra Cisneros and Gary Soto (a footnote implies that Flores tried to include them); others may ask why neither biographical nor explanatory notes accompany the stories and poems. Still, this is a volume that's long overdue: readers (and teachers) seeking a good, wide-ranging anthology of short works by U.S. Latinos will be glad this book exists. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-An excellent anthology that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the journal of the Hispanic literary arts, The Americas Review. With the publication of this collection of short fiction and poetry, mature readers of Spanish and English can trace the emergence of contemporary Hispanic voices in the U.S. Organized into three sections, the volume represents three distinct stages of the cultural identity of American Hispanics: "Nationhood Messengers" (pioneer writers, 1970-1984); "Memory Makers" (the 1980s); and "New Navigators of the Floating Borderlands" (the 1990s). While the pieces are written predominantly in English, secondary Spanish students will also find sufficient fare to challenge them. Among the most interesting of the pioneering writers' contributions is Miguel Algar n's "Paterson," evocative of William Carlos Williams's long epic of the same name. From the contemporary prose segment, Elenza Diaz Bjorkquist's short story, "The Hershey Bar Queen," will fascinate YAs because of its unrelenting honesty. Modern themes arise: women's issues, the immigrant experience, urban travel, farm-laborers' experiences, etc. In addition, the 16 images in the art plates add much to the presentation. An important contribution to cultural studies of Hispanics in America.-Margaret Nolan, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

This anthology celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Americas Review, a journal of Hispanic literary arts. Selections are arranged in three parts: Nationhood Messengers, from the Latino communities of the 1970s; Memory Makers, polished works successful in the American mainstream from the 1980s; and New Navigators of the Floating Borderlands, featuring emerging writers just beginning to be heard. Includes both prose and poetry, in Spanish and English. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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