Are Latinos/as Now Coasting or Still Breaking New Ground?
In: Latinidad at the CrossroadsPurchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This chapter addresses the history of Chicano literature and directly speaks to the ways in which the movement inevitably is tied to the broader implications of latinidad and the literature that comprises it. Calling attention to the undeniable literary presence that Latino/a writers have claimed in the American canon, this essay makes connections to the ripple effect this has had on Latino/a culture in more general terms. Moreover, it portrays the ways in which Chicano literature has systematically been pushed forward by its myriad directions and modalities and how this has led to a wider array of views and concerns about the human experience. This chapter outlines critical assessments from the Chicano Renaissance—in its majority, male dominated—to the “Chicano Postmodern Generation,” spurred by a new wave of women writers who have changed the face and substance of Chicano and Latino literature forever.