This essay examines the uneasy relationship that Arturo Islas's "The Rain God" has had with narratives of identity, focusing on how the representation of Felix's sexuality makes him a problematic figure for certain strains of Chicana/o and queer studies. In other writings, Islas criticizes Quinto Sol, the chief publishing house of Chicano…

This essay examines the working-class Mexican experience as represented in Jorge Ulica's "Cronicas Diabolicas," which he published between 1916 and 1926. What unites the wide-ranging subject matter of the chronicles is the author's resolute interest in maintaining his working-class compatriots' cultural and ideological ties to Mexico.…

In the world of Chicana fiction, Ana Castillo has achieved the kind of status Maxine Hong Kingston has attained within Asian American discourse. Castillo's work is popular not only with the general reading public but in many academic circles as well. What sets Castillo apart from so many other Chicana fiction writers is that she is also a…

The autobiographically modulated poetry and prose collection "City of God" (1994) and other published works by the late Gil Cuadros (1962-96) survive as an important set of AIDS testimonials, the first of their kind in Chicano literary production. This paper explores Cuadros's preoccupation with processes of identificatory signification and…

Supporting her theory that the Puerto Rican has a uniqueness which she calls "el jibaro," Maria Teresa Babin has edited an anthology, "Borinquen." The anthology, a political treatise in its own right, presents an historical and topical view of "representative" Puerto Rican literature. The literature, sometimes superficially nonpolitical, serves a…

This opening address at the annual conference of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States (MELUS) introduces a community of ethnic scholars who make a considerable contribution to American Literature. The focus of the conference and the organization is to show that American literature does not have to be…

Presents: the 1996/97 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List of 19 children's books; a short essay about what she writes and why she writes it by Texas author Angela Shelf Medearis; an essay introducing Arte Publico Press in Houston, a publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by United States Hispanic authors; and the 1996/97 Texas Lone Star…

Offers a profile of Pat Mora, a writer whose work crosses the boundaries of audience, genre, and language. Notes that woven through her works are topics drawn from her life experience. Looks at her recent accomplishments and forthcoming books. Discusses her advocacy for cultural and linguistic diversity, and for more Latinos in all phases of…

Works of three Chicana authors focus on the individual Chicana's response to tradition and restraint and, taken as a whole, illustrate three essential steps in breaking away from the myth of the Chicana as submissive, suffering, passive, and powerless. "El ser mujer..." by poet Ana Castillo calls for the Chicana to speak out regarding…

According to a footnote in the 1990 book "The Noble Savage,""The Spanish Black Legend is the view of Spain's genocide in The New World, as accounted for by Bartolome de las Casas and the European historians who, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, denounced this genocide, often utilizing it as an anti-Spanish propaganda…

Reviews 23 recently published works of multicultural literature (African-American, Asian and Asian-American, Native American, and Hispanic literature). Discusses some issues related to multicultural literature, and includes a 58-item list of other multicultural literature. (RS)

Discusses White readers' attitudes and responses to ethnic literature, especially that of Leslie Marmon Silko, Toni Cade Bambera, and Toni Morrison. (SRT)

Explores how poetry can be used in support groups as an adjunctive treatment technique to empower and to raise consciousness of Latina battered women. Offers examples of Latin American women's literary works to demonstrate the connections poetry has to everyday lives, and how Latina spouse-abuse survivors can gain a deeper understanding of…

Voices concern over the poor representation of Hispanics in children's and young adult literature. Discusses the negative effects of this poor representation on students; possible reasons why Hispanics are not well represented in this literature; and possible solutions to this problem. Suggests numerous books which may be helpful resources in…

As teachers gravitate more and more to the use of literature and strive to include a range of cultural experiences in their classrooms, the use of poetry from various cultural groups should be considered. Poetry is a very real means of having children see themselves and others as being both unique and yet the same. In considering poetry across…