This book promises to be a very useful reference work, covering material that has heretofore been hard to find. . . . . useful in academic libraries and large public libraries. "Reference Books Bulletin"

This dictionary provides an exhaustive reference guide to representative figures in Hispanic literature within the geographic, political, and cultural boundaries of the United States. While concentrating on contemporary writers who have made or promise to make a lasting contribution to multiethnic letters in this country, it is designed to make accessible to the English-language reader a literary world that has until now been articulated primarily in Spanish. Focusing mainly on Puerto Rican and Cuban writers, each entry summarizes the importance of the subject and indicates the literary genres and themes cultivated. There is a brief biography of each author, an analysis of major works and themes, and a survey of the criticism of the author's works.

The first and most comprehensive volume on the subject, this extraordinarily detailed sourcebook is a compilation of bio-bibliographical essays on leading Hispanic novelists, poets, and dramatists, and includes secondary bibliographies for each entry as well as a general bibliography on Hispanic literature. Especially highlighted are such authors as Nuyorican Miguel Pinero, winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play; Chilean novelist, critic, and editor Fernando Alegria; the Cuban-American chronicler of life in Miami's exile community, Roberto Fernandez, and others. Kanellos' work answers a definite need for comprehensive biographical and critical information on these writers, and it will be a significant addition to academic and public libraries, and to research in Spanish, English, bilingual education, and ethnic studies.

Herencia (meaning "inheritance" or "heritage") is the first anthology to bring together literature from the entire history of Hispanic writing in the United States, from the age of exploration to the present. The product of a ten-year project involving hundreds of scholars nationwide, Herencia is the most comprehensive literary collection available, spanning over three centuries and including writers from all the major Hispanic ethnic communities, and writing from diverse genres.

Here is the voice of the conqueror and the conquered, the revolutionary and the reactionary, the native and the uprooted or landless. Of course, readers will find pieces by such leading writers as Piri Thomas, Luis Valdez, Isabel Allende, Oscar Hijuelos, and Reinaldo Arenas. But what really distinguishes this anthology is its historical depth and its rich, complex portrait of Hispanic literature in the United States. Beginning with Cabeza de Vaca's account of his explorations in the New World, the anthology includes a passage from La Florida, a narrative historical poem of 22,000 verses, written by Franciscan friar Alonso de Escobedo; an attack on Mexican stereotypes in the nascent movie industry, written by Nicasio Idar, editor of Laredo's La Cronica; and an essay about Coney Island written by revolutionary Jose Marti.

Embracing Chicano, Nuyorican, Cuban American, and Latino writings, the voices of immigrants and the voices of exiles, Herencia makes a vital contribution to our understanding not only of Hispanic writing in the United States, but also of the great contribution Hispanics have made to the United States.

Hispanic theatre flourished in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century until the beginning of the Second World War--a fact that few theatre historians know. A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940 is the very first study of this rich tradition, filled with details about plays, authors, artists, companies, houses, directors, and theatrical circuits.

Sixteen years of research in public and private archives in the United States, Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico inform this study. In addition, Kanellos located former performers and playwrights, forgotten scripts, and old photographs to bring the life and vitality of live theatre to his text. He organizes the book around the cities where Hispanic theatre was particularly active, including Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York, and Tampa, as well as cities on the touring circuit, such as Laredo, El Paso, Tucson, and San Francisco.

Kanellos charts the major achievements of Hispanic theatre in each city--playwriting in Los Angeles, vaudeville and tent theatre in San Antonio, Cuban/Spanish theatre in Tampa, and pan-Hispanism in New York--as well as the individual careers of several actors, writers, and directors. And he uncovers many gaps in the record--reminders that despite its popularity, Hispanic theatre was often undervalued and unrecorded.

Kanellos compiles historial literature on the Christmas theme by Hispanic Americans from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. There are thirty-six selections of short stories, traditional tales, songs, poetry and the complete religious drama of the shepherds, "Los Pastores," from 1907. They explore the complicated crossroads of politics and religion and the multifaceted significance of Christmas and the Hispanic identity. Kanellos compiles rare turn-of-the-century stories and contemporary writiings by celebrated authors such as Chicano folklorist American Paredes. Children's stories include "Legend of the Poinsettia" and "the Christmas Spirit Tree." The book represents writers of Mexican, Colombian, Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage whose works originate from New York, Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, New Mexico and California. They not only reveal an early history of publishing US Latino literature but also chronicle the changing status of these groups since the nineteenth century, and important issues such as assimilation, religion, communal identity, patriotism, and poverty. The anthology includes an extensive historical introduction, illustrations, original Spanish text for all poetry, and a bibliography.

The first anthology to bring together heretofore unknown texts from the entire history of Hispanics writing in what became the United States, fom the colonial period to the present. The anthology follows the dominant trends of native, immigrant and exile writing by Latinos in the United States.

Kanellos compiles historial literature on the Christmas theme by Hispanic Americans from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. There are thirty-six selections of short stories, traditional tales, songs, poetry and the complete religious drama of the shepherds, "Los Pastores," from 1907. They explore the complicated crossroads of politics and religion and the multifaceted significance of Christmas and the Hispanic identity. Kanellos compiles rare turn-of-the-century stories and contemporary writiings by celebrated authors such as Chicano folklorist American Paredes. Children's stories include "Legend of the Poinsettia" and "the Christmas Spirit Tree." The book represents writers of Mexican, Colombian, Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage whose works originate from New York, Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, New Mexico and California. They not only reveal an early history of publishing US Latino literature but also chronicle the changing status of these groups since the nineteenth century, and important issues such as assimilation, religion, communal identity, patriotism, and poverty. The anthology includes an extensive historical introduction, illustrations, original Spanish text for all poetry, and a bibliography.

Immigration has been one of the basic realities of life for Latino communities in the United States since the nineteenth century. It is one of the most important themes in Hispanic literature, and it has given rise to a specific type of literature while also defining what it means to be Hispanic in the United States. Immigrant literature uses predominantly the language of the homeland; it serves a population united by that language, irrespective of national origin; and it solidifies and furthers national identity. The literature of immigration reflects the reasons for emigrating, records-both orally and in writing-the trials and tribulations of immigration, and facilitates adjustment to the new society while maintaining links with the old society. Based on an archive assembled over the past two decades by author Nicolas Kanellos's Recovering the U. S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project, this comprehensive study is one of the first to define this body of work. Written and recorded by people from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, the texts presented here reflect the dualities that have characterized the Hispanic immigrant experience in the United States since the mid-nineteenth century, set always against a longing for homeland.