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An Overview of Contemporary Chicano/a Literature
Author(s) -
De Pinedo Eva Fernández
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
literature compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.158
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 1741-4113
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4113.2006.00347.x
Subject(s) - individualism , politics , american literature , human sexuality , chinese literature , aesthetics , literature , gender studies , psychology , sociology , history , art , political science , archaeology , china , law
This paper aims to review and highlight the main themes and ideas of contemporary Chicano/a literature. Given that the awakening of this literature is closely connected with the Chicano Movement, the early literature reflects a similar socio‐political agenda, with an emphasis on the recuperation of historical memory. Despite a rich literary production since the 1960s, the last two decades have witnessed the appearance of writers such as Gloria Anzaldúa and Sandra Cisneros who have placed Chicano/a writing on the literary map. Thus my paper analyses in more detail this later literature, arguing that it foregrounds gender and (homo)sexuality, issues previously ignored during the male‐dominated era of the 1960s and 1970s. This later production is characterised by individualistic and self‐critical voices such as that of Richard Rodriguez who open up the boundaries and contribute to the creation of a more multifaceted literature.