Hispanic Women Writers

Introduced by informative entries which place the authors in their cultural and historical frameworks, the selections are as diverse as Hispanic culture itself and as varied as the personalities of their authors.

-- Brings together the best criticism on the most widely read poets, novelists, and playwrights
-- Presents complex critical portraits of the most influential writers in the English-speaking world -- from the English medievalists to contemporary writers

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.

Latina writers are often sensitive to the discrimination faced by Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Latinas are additionally oppressed because of their gender--because they are women, they hold a subordinate position in Latino culture. This book gives special attention to the role of female cultural "gatekeepers" in novels by contemporary Latina writers. These gatekeepers enforce and perpetuate patriarchal cultural constraints onto future generations of Latinas. The book begins by examining Judith Ortiz Cofer's Silent Dancing, a work which clearly illustrates the role of gatekeepers in perpetuating gendered power relations. It then turns to the works of Christina Garcia, Julia Alvarez, Rosario Ferre, and Magali Garcia Ramis.

Embracing Chicana, Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican writers and writers descended from a combined US and Latin American heritage, Latina literature is one of the fastest growing and most exciting fields in fiction. This literature is characterised by revisionist views of recent history, a concern with exile and borders, a blending of genres, and a complex understanding of the term feminist. In these ten interviews, Kevane and Heredia give writers the opportunity to talk about how they began to write, the craft of writing, the conjunction of life, art and politics, literary influences, and their goals as artists. Readers will meet Julia Alvarez, Denise Chávez, Sandra Cisneros, Rosario Ferré, Cristina García, Nicholasa Mohr, Cherríe Moraga, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Esmeralda Santiago, and Helena María Viramontes. The writers' personal and literary journeys vividly portrayed in these interviews will enrich and enhance the readers' understanding of this exciting field. The volume also includes bibliographies of the writers' work.

Critical discussions of the works of Chicana authors are invariably grounded in issues of power and politics. This book examines how contemporary Chicana writers have explored the subjugation of Chicanas. While Chicanos and Chicanas often suffer from the oppression of European Americans, Chicanas are additionally oppressed by a cultural system that subordinates them even further because of their gender. The first part of the volume discusses the major concerns and themes of Chicana writers in terms of the problems caused by inequitable gendered power relations. In the second, the proposed solutions of Chicana writers are presented. The final portion of the volume explores the relationship between Chicanas and other women writers and critics of color, Jewish feminists, and the mainstream feminist movement.

During the last decade, women's narrative has become a recognized force in Mexican letters. The essays in this collection explore the recent work of nine contemporary Mexican women writers. Many of the works have been translated into English; some, like Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, have become international best sellers. The unprecedented commercial success of these novels has generated mixed reactions: at the same time that the secondary status afforded women's narrative has come to be questioned in many academic circles, some authors are dissociating themselves from "women's writing." The essays in this volume address these issues, providing a much needed contribution to the study of women's narrative.

This annotated bio-bibliographical guide provides long-overdue recognition for women writers of Spain, including special entries on those writing in Catalan and Galician. By familiarizing readers with the content and meaning of selected works by three hundred such writers, readers and students of Spanish literature now have access to works which may be judged as excellent examples of the literature of their age, yet have previously received little or no attention. Through the efforts of seventy-nine specialists in Spanish literature, each of these writers is summarized in a brief biographical sketch and overview of her work, followed by an in-depth analysis, including complete biographical data and descriptive annotations for the major works. While some women writers from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries are included, this guide concentrates primarily on authors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, providing for the first time an extensive and comprehensive listing for the present century. The abundance of information in this guide is made accessible through four appendixes: a chronological list of authors; a list of Catalan authors; a list of Galician authors; and an index of translated titles in this bio-bibliography.