En Otra Voz: Antologia de la Literatura Hispana de los Estados Unidos

An award-winning author of reference works, Kanellos has put together a noteworthy Spanish-language anthology of Hispanic writing in the United States. Part of the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project and at least 10 years in the making, this collection includes pieces from the colonial times to the present, challenging those who think that Hispanic literature is a 40-year-old phenomenon. After a very useful introduction, the book is divided chronologically into three sections, which represent different aspects of the Hispanic experience in the United States, from those born here, those who have immigrated, and those in exile. In more than 130 texts, most of them previously unpublished or hard to find, readers will find the usual suspects (Maria Ruiz de Burton), others who deserve to be more widely read (Julio Arce), and others relatively unknown (Jaime Montesinos). There are also those mainly associated with the Latin American literary canon, like Jose Marti and Luisa Valenzuela. Since the anthology aims to gather not only the best but the most representative texts as well, there is some unevenness in the selection: wonderful pieces by Eusebio Chacon or Aristeo Brito, for instance, are included together with others that are representative but mediocre. Nonetheless, this first-time record of Hispanic literature in this country is essential for public, school, and academic libraries and bookstores. Edmundo Paz Soldan, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY