Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings - An Anthology
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
MANY CULTURES * ONE WORLD
"Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Boricua is a powerful word that tells the origin and history of the Puerto Rican people."
--From the Introduction
From the sun-drenched beaches of a beautiful, flamboyan-covered island to the cool, hard pavement of the fierce South Bronx, the remarkable journey of the Puerto Rican people is a rich story full of daring defiance, courageous strength, fierce passions, and dangerous politics--and it is a story that continues to be told today. Long ignored by Anglo literature studies, here are more than fifty selections of poetry, fiction, plays, essays, monologues, screenplays, and speeches from some of the most vibrant and original voices in Puerto Rican literature.
* Jack Agüeros * Miguel Algarín * Julia de Burgos * Pedro Albizu Campos * Lucky CienFuegos * Judith Ortiz Cofer * Jesus Colon * Victor Hern ndez Cruz * José de Diego * Martin Espada * Sandra Maria Esteves * Ronald Fernandez * José Luis Gonzalez * Migene Gonzalez-Wippler * Maria Graniela de Pruetzel * Pablo Guzman * Felipe Luciano * René Marqués * Luis Muñoz Marín * Nicholasa Mohr * Aurora Levins Morales * Martita Morales * Rosario Morales * Willie Perdomo * Pedro Pietri * Miguel Piñero * Reinaldo Povod * Freddie Prinze * Geraldo Rivera * Abraham Rodriguez, Jr. * Clara E. Rodriguez * Esmeralda Santiago * Roberto Santiago * Pedro Juan Soto * Piri Thomas * Edwin Torres * José Torres * Joseph B. Vasquez * Ana Lydia Vega
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While it could have been more strictly organized (i.e., vaguely thematic chapters include ``History and Politics'' and ``Anxiety and Assimilation,'' currents present in almost every piece), this excellent anthology of essays, fiction, poetry, screenplays and other works by writers of Puerto Rican heritage shimmers with interesting reading. In a buoyant introduction, Santiago describes his own, youthful discovery of Puerto Rican writers--``the first book I read by a Puerto Rican author was the one the Jesuits at Xavier had denounced as pornographic and prejudiced against whites. I knew it had to be good''--and explains why their writing continues to feel ``subversive.'' Jesus Colon fluidly combines a thumbnail history of the island's oppression with an explanation of why it takes a lot of effort before a Puerto Rican will ``ask you to have a cup of black coffee with him in his own kitchen.'' In ``Palante! Young Lords,'' Pablo Guzman recounts the founding of the Young Lords Party, based on the Black Panthers. With academic clarity, Clara E. Rodriguez examines racial background in ``Puerto Ricans: Between Black and White,'' a theme Julia de Burgos treats more succinctly and emotionally in poetry. Women are well represented here, although they tend to write about being women specifically. In general, the variety is impressive: Ana Lydia Vega, Martin Espada, Geraldo Rivera, a transcript of a Freddie Prinze monologue and a serious essay by the comedian's mother. Santiago has gracefully managed to pull together a collection that presents a united front while perserving the diversity of the individual voices.
