En Otra Voz: Antologia De Literatura Hispana De Los Estados Unidos (Recovering the Us Hispanic Literary Heritage) (Spanish Edition)
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 In more than 130 texts,  most of them previously unpublished or hard to find, readers  will find the usual suspects (Maria Ruiz de Burton), others who  deserve to be more widely read (Julio Arce), and others  relatively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, NYCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.