Shaking Off the Dark

By Tino Villanueva

Poetry in Spanish, English and Spanglish. Latino/a Studies. First published in 1984 by Arte Publico, "Shaking off the Dark" has become one of the classics of Chicano literature. This new, corrected edition features poems not included in the first edition, as well as introduction and bibliography. These poems are thoughtful, angry, perceptive, and address such topics as art, time, love, oppression, history, and language itself. "Distraught, /mad-eyed from told formulas/bound to rule my easy ways, /I look, I see, /but fail once more to know." In this "failure" to know, however, Villanueva provides us a gorgeous window onto the worlds he sees so sharply. "So arise, Chicano, " he extorts, "arise from the shadow of Nothingness; /arise from that neverending Nada of servitude./The problem is we live by other people's words" (from "Speak Up, Chicano, Speak Up"). Villanueva does speak up, creating poems to counter "other people's words." A recipient of the American Book Award, Villanueva lives in Boston and teaches at Boston University.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0934770239
• ISBN13: 9780934770231
• Release Date: December 1984
• Publisher: Arte Publico Pr
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Affirmation of Life

"Shaking Off the Dark" is a series of luminous poems that takes the reader through dark despair to an affirmation of life. For those of us who are bilingual and bicultural, Villanueva reflects the world we live in and the world in which we strive to build an identity that is whole. The poems are accessible, yet they are complex because they deal with the wounds of social discrimation that often victimize us. Villanueva invites us to cast off this victimization and to embrace our lives. If you don't speak Spanish no matter, for the majority of the poems are in English. These poems will resonate with anyone who appreciates beauty and knows when a poet speaks from the heart.

Wonderful! Simply Wonderful!

I bought this book to do a paper for a class. I had no idea that I was buying what would become one of my favorite poetry books, or that this name given to me by a teacher would become one of my favorite poets. I would suggest this collection to any poetry lover. The poems in this book range from humorous to happy to angry to sad. There is something for every feeling.