Writing on the Edge: A Borderlands Reader [Paperback]

Tom Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Twenty miles wide and two thousand long, the U.S.-Mexico borderland is a country unto itself that has been celebrated in the works of many writers—and not just those who call it home. Here artists as disparate as Carlos Fuentes, Maya Angelou, and Allen Ginsberg have found literary inspiration, presenting the region through varied viewpoints that give border writing its unusual scope and texture.

This wide-ranging anthology—gathering short stories and essays, song lyrics and poems—offers readers a new appreciation of the border and its literature. Residents of the region may be startled to learn how many passers-by have been struck by this unruly slice of North America, while those living in other parts of the country may be surprised to find it more than a dateline for reports of smuggling and illegal immigration.

Collected here are both celebrated and underappreciated gems of American and Mexican literature depicting a region that for some writers represents an exotic land, for others home. Writing on the Edge juxtaposes passages by New Jersey poet William Carlos Williams and native songwriter Flaco Jiménez, British novelist Graham Greene and American poet Demetria Martínez, to show us the border from both sides and from a distance. In all of the selections, La Frontera looms larger than life—an energizing force that frames the lives of the characters living within its boundaries. Included in the book is a literary map of the border highlighting the sites with which each author is identified.

As editor Tom Miller observes, the very notion of literature in a region considered an "irrelevant nuisance" allows for more free-ranging creative output." Writing on the Edge sparkles with such creativity and invites readers to enjoy the best of two worlds—and of the world they share.

Table of Contents

Print a literary map of the borderlands here!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From Jack Kerouac to Los Pingüinos del Norte and [Graham] Greene to Flaco Jiménez—if they wrote about the border during the 20th century and Miller agreed with or laughed at them, they're probably here. 'Writing on the Edge' showcases some of the finest border literature—the best of which puts you at the Arizona fence or in Texas Big Bend Country, lost in the 2,000-mile-long stretch of in-between." —Arizona Daily Star "The introduction is as good as some of the literature contained in the book—and this is a book that contains some real gems. . . . By the end of this century-long trek, one has been aesthetically well satisfied yet often left emotionally aghast-the kind of duality one experiences when admiring the sinuous speed of the rattlesnake as the fangs sink in." —San Antonio Express-News

From the Inside Flap

Twenty miles wide and two thousand long, the U.S.-Mexico borderland is a country unto itself that has been celebrated in the works of many writers--and not just those who call it home. Here artists as disparate as Carlos Fuentes, Maya Angelou, and Allen Ginsberg have found literary inspiration, presenting the region through varied viewpoints that give border writing its unusual scope and texture. This wide-ranging anthology--gathering short stories and essays, song lyrics and poems--offers readers a new appreciation of the border and its literature. Residents of the region may be startled to learn how many passers-by have been struck by this unruly slice of North America, while those living in other parts of the country may be surprised to find it more than a dateline for reports of smuggling and illegal immigration. Collected here are both celebrated and underappreciated gems of American and Mexican literature depicting a region that for some writers represents an exotic land, for others home. Writing on the Edge juxtaposes passages by New Jersey poet William Carlos Williams and native songwriter Flaco Jiménez, British novelist Graham Greene and American poet Demetria Martínez, to show us the border from both sides and from a distance. In all of the selections, La Frontera looms larger than life--an energizing force that frames the lives of the characters living within its boundaries. Included in the book is a literary map of the border highlighting the sites with which each author is identified. As editor Tom Miller observes, the very notion of literature in a region considered an "irrelevant nuisance" allows for more free-ranging creative output." Writing on the Edge sparkles with such creativity and invites readers to enjoy the best of two worlds--and of the world they share.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816522413
• ISBN-13: 978-0816522415
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Miller has been writing about Latin America and the American Southwest for more than thirty years, bringing us extraordinary stories of ordinary people. His highly acclaimed adventure books include "The Panama Hat Trail" about South America, "On the Border," an account of his travels along the U.S.-Mexico frontier, "Trading With the Enemy," which takes readers on his journeys through Cuba, and, about the American Southwest, "Revenge of the Saguaro" (formerly "Jack Ruby's Kitchen Sink" -- which won the coveted Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Book of the Year in 2001). He has edited three compilations, "Travelers' Tales Cuba," "Writing on the Edge: A Borderlands Reader," and "How I Learned English." Additionally, he was a major contributor to the four-volume "Encyclopedia Latina."

Miller, a veteran of the underground press of the late 1960s, has appeared in Smithsonian, The New Yorker, LIFE, The New York Times, Natural History, and many other publications. He wrote the introduction to "Best Travel Writing - 2005," and has led educational tours through Cuba for the National Geographic Society and other organizations. The Arizona Humanities Council sponsors his talks about borderland literature and also Thoronton Wilder's Unknown Life in Arizona. His collection of some eighty versions of "La Bamba" led to his Rhino Records release, "The Best of La Bamba," and his book "On the Border" has been optioned by Productvision for a theatrical film.

Miller was born and raised in Washington, D.C., attended college in Ohio, and since 1969 has lived in Arizona 65 miles north of the Mexican border.

In 2008 Miller was honored in a ceremony in the Centro Histórico of Quito, with a proclamation designating him a "Huésped Ilustre de Quito" (Illustrious Guest of Quito) for his literary contribution to Ecuador, especially "The Panama Hat Trail." In 2010 Miller won first prize in the Solas Awards in the "Destinations" category for "A Border Rat in the Twilight Zone," originally published in The Washington Post.. He also won a Bronze award for "Notes on an Andean Pilgrim" in the "Travel Memoir" field.

Well-traveled through the Americas, Miller has taught writing workshops in four countries and his books have been published in Europe and Latin America as well as the United States. In recognition of his work the University of Arizona Library has acquired Miller's archives and mounted a major exhibit of the author's papers. He has been affiliated with that school's Latin American Area Center since 1990, and makes his home in Tucson with his wife Regla Albarrán.