Salem Press

Notable Latino Writers
Publisher's Note

Notable Latino Writers compiles 122 essays on great novelists, poets, playwrights, and short-story writers of the Western Hemisphere who are considered "Latino" in the broad sense of the term. Students, librarians, and teachers of literature both originally written in English and by authors whose Spanish- or Portuguese-language works have been translated into English will find a comprehensive overview of each author's biography and literary career as well as ready-reference listings of their major works in all genres.

Although often confined to those born in the United States of Spanish-speaking parents, or who have migrated to the United States from a Spanish-language country, the term "Latino" is here used in its larger sense, to refer to authors living in the Americas who speak--or descend from those who spoke - either Spanish or Portuguese, as well as those of Latin American descent living in the United States, who often may speak only English. The term is deliberately inclusive, allowing coverage here of many Latin American authors - such as the Brazilian Jorge Amado, the Colombian Gabriel García Márquez, or the Peruvian/Chilean Isabel Allende - whose works have been routinely translated into English and studied as part of the Latino heritage. The term also, of course, includes U.S.-born writers of Latino descent - Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban and Cuban American, Dominican American, from Julia Alvarez to Richard Rodriguez to Gary Soto--whose experiences growing up in this country, with all their variety, have been collectively termed "Latino." Used this way, the term "Latino" generally does not refer to Spaniards (such as Miguel de Cervantes) exclusively identified with Spain.

Each essay opens with a brief quotation from the author accompanied in most cases by a photograph or portrait; the author's nationality or ethnicity and major genre (e.g., "Mexican American novelist") are identified. A full listing of birth and death dates and places follows, followed by chronological listings of the author's works by genre: Foreign-language (original) title first if appropriate, then date of publication, then English title-in-publication and its date. The text of each essay introduces the author with a pronunciation for his or her name, a brief biographical sketch, and a synopsis of the literary career. At the end of every essay is an up-to-date annotated bibligraophy, "Learn More," which suggests secondary sources for further study.

A special feature of the set is a boxed sidebar that accompanies each essay, headed "What to Read": This synopsis one of the author's most famous works functions both as a guide to students looking for a place to start and as an advisory for the interested general reader.

Seven overview essays and several other appendices round out the set:

   Latino and Latin American Drama
   Latino Long Fiction
   Latin American Long Fiction
   Latino Poetry
   Latin American Poetry
   Latino Short Fiction
   Latin American Short Fiction
   More Latino Authors (401 additional Latino writers, plus recommended
       readings)
   Bibliography (secondary sources on Latino literature)
   Electronic Resources (subscription databases as well as free Web sites)
   Chronological List of Authors (authors by birth year)

Finally, five indexes provide finding aids for a variety of categories:

   Genre Index (authors arranged by the genres in which they wrote)
   Geographical Index (authors by geographical origin and, within the
       United States, ethnicity)
   Personages Index (writers and other persons discussed or featured
       in the essays and sidebars)
   Title Index (works discussed or featured in the essays and sidebars)
   Subject Index (comprehensive index of titles, names, concepts)

Most of the essays are reprinted from the Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition (5 vols., 2004); some have been reprinted from Salem's Critical Survey of Literature series; a few more originally appeared in Salem's Identities and Issues in Literature (1997). Sidebars are taken from many different Salem publications, including Salem's Masterplots, Masteplots II, and Critical Survey series. All bibliographies are updated through 2005, and all essays and sidebars carry their original authors' bylines. Several sidebars are new, and two new essays, on Nicholas Guillén and on José Martí, were added to round out coverage. The contributors include academicians specializing in both American and Latin American literature; we are indebted to them for making these volumes possible.