As the descendants of Mexican immigrants have settled throughout the United States, a great literature has emerged, but its correspondences with the literature of Mexico have gone largely unobserved. In Bordering Fires, the first anthology to combine writing from both sides of the Mexican-U.S. border, Cristina García presents a richly diverse cross-cultural conversation. Beginning with Mexican masters such as Alfonso Reyes and Juan Rulfo, García highlights historic voices such as “the godfather of Chicano literature” Rudolfo Anaya and Gloria Anzaldúa, who made a powerful case for language that reflects bicultural experience. From the fierce evocations of Chicano reality in Jimmy Santiago Baca’s “Poem IX” to the breathtaking images of identity in Coral Bracho’s poem “Fish of Fleeting Skin,” from the work of Carlos Fuentes to Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo to Octavio Paz, this landmark collection of fiction, essays, and poetry offers an exhilarating new vantage point on our continent—and on the best of contemporary literature.
Reviews
“Novelist García has created an anthology that is timeless in its artistry and timely in its topic. [A] vital and defining collection of poetry, fiction, and essays . . Each selection is distinct and resonant, tapping into deep and fluid truths and shaping a coalescing literary realm.”
—Donna Seaman, Booklist
“A marvelous introduction to some of the most luminous and illuminating voices to be found in the Chicano/a and Mexican literary traditions, offering a fascinating and resonant dialogue among them.”
—Rafael Pérez-Torres, Professor of American Literature and Chicano Studies, UCLA
“In an age that reduces lo mexicano to a nefarious stereotype, this assortment of literary delights will allow readers to appreciate the richness of a millenarian civilization.”
—Ilan Stavans, Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College