Chicana portraits : critical biographies of twelve Chicana writers
Title:
Chicana portraits : critical biographies of twelve Chicana writers
Author:
Cantú, Norma E., 1947- editor.
ISBN:
9780816551811
9780816551828
Physical Description:
vi, 354 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm
General Note:
Source of cataloging data: WCP
Abstract:
"This innovative collection pairs portraits with critical biographies of twelve key Chicana writers, offering an engaging look at their work, contributions to the field, and major achievements. Artist Raquel Valle-Sentíes’s portraits bring visual dimension, while essays delve deeply into the authors’ lives for details that inform their literary, artistic, feminist, and political trajectories and sensibilities. The collection brilliantly intersects artistic visual and literary cultural productions, allowing complex themes to emerge, such as the fragility of life, sexism and misogyny, Chicana agency and forging one’s own path, the struggles of becoming a writer and battling self-doubt, economic instability, and political engagement and activism. Arranged chronologically by birth order of the authors, the book can be read cover to cover for a genealogical overview, or scholars and general readers can easily jump in at any point and read about an individual author, regardless of the chronology. Biographies included in this work include Raquel Valle-Sentíes, Angela de Hoyos, Montserrat Fontes, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Norma E. Cantú, Denise Elia Chávez, Carmen Tafolla, Cherríe Moraga, Ana Castillo, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Sandra Cisneros, and Demetria Martínez."-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
Laredo and Its Discontents: An Introduction / Norma E. Cantú -- Raquel Valle-Sentíes: Portrait of a Poet, Painter, and Playwright / Angela de Hoyos: A Poet Artivist / Montserrat Fontes: Teacher and Writer / Gloria Anzaldúa: A Critical Biography / Norma Elia Cantú: Norma-lizing what is Chicanx, a life of beautiful Norms in the Interstice / Denise Elia Chávez's Call to Service: Staging Theatre, Teatroesque Literature, and Chicana Activism in New Mexico / Evolving the Spirit: Crisis, Oppression and Survival in the Work of Carmen Tafolla / Toward a Critical Biography of Cherríe Moraga / A Critical Portrait of Ana Castillo / Lorna Dee Cervantes: "No Self but in Other Selves" / Guidance and Affirmation: Being hijas de la mala vida con Sandra Cisneros / Demetria Martinez: A Critical Biography