Latina Self-Portraits: Interviews with Contemporary Women Writers

Book Overview

Embracing Chicana, Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican writers and writers descended from a combined U.S. and Latin American heritage, Latina literature is one of the fastest growing and most exciting fields in fiction. This literature is characterized 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826319718
• ISBN13: 9780826319715
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 174 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Latina Self-Portraits: True Inside Stories of the Authors Behind the Literature

Kevane and Heredia's interviews of my favorite twentieth-century Latina authors let me get to know and understand the personal triumphs and tribulations of the writers behind the groundbreaking novels and poetry that took the literary world by storm when their works were released. In 1984, when I first picked up "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, I was, of course, blown away, and wondered, "How did she make these characters come alive like this?" The characters were real to me. In these insightful interviews, I was thrilled to read about the real-life Cisneros as well as Denise Chavez and other favorite Latina authors. Not being Latina myself, Latina literature has opened up new avenues of a diverse culture -- these author interviews really bring it home, with revelation and inspiration. The authors' own personal stories are as witty, poignant, and as rich as the fiction they write. Don't miss this introduction to Latina literature, presented by two talented, critical analysts of this genre. Entertaining, inspirational, and insightful interviews make for a rich read about the world's most famous Latina authors of the twentieth century. Latina Self-Portraits is highly recommended if you read Latina literature, and especially if you are a writer of stories about women, either fiction or nonfiction.

Must-Read Book

This book offers frank and revealing interviews. As a fan of Latina liuterature, I found this wonderful collection insightful and inspiring. Kevane's intro raises fascinating questions about the state of Latina literature.