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

Lauro Flores (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1998

The Flooting Borderlands 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 twenty-fifth anniversary with this anthology of some of the best fiction and poetry from its pages.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since 1972, the Americas Review (formerly Revista Chicano-Rique?a) 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.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295977469
• ISBN-13: 978-0295977461
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,775,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Accounting of Hispanic Literature in the US, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Floating Borderlands: Twenty-Five Years of U.S. Hispanic Literature (Paperback)

This collection demonstrates the diversity of talents, voices and languages within the Chicano/ Latino ethnic canon. There is something here for any reader: if you are new to the literature this is the perfect introduction; if you are a seasoned reader of Hispanic writers then you will be glad to have the best of the best gathered in one volume. I would point out some favorites, but I wouldn't want to lessen the importance of those writings I don't mention. Check it out for yourself. The final section--the new navigators (i.e. younger writers) is full of awesome and promising work. A great read.