Notable Latino Writers

Novelists, poets, playwrights and short-story writers The description "Latino" is often limited to those born in the United States of Spanish-speaking parents, or who have migrated to the United States from a Spanish-language country Salem uses the term "Latino" in its larger sense, to refer to authors living in the Americas who speak - or descend from those who spoke - any romance language, 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 Garcia Marquez, 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. CONTENTS Notable Latino Writers compiles 120 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.

Literature covered includes works originally written in English and those Spanish and Portuguese works that have been translated into English.

For each there is a comprehensive overview of the author's biography and literary career as well as ready-reference listings of their major works in all genres.

FORMAT 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 are identified.

A full listing of birth and death dates and places follows, plus 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 bibliography, "Learn More," which suggests secondary sources for further study.