Historical Fiction Panel - July 18, — members — last activity Aug 26, PM Join us on Wednesday, July 18, for a special day-long discussion of historical fiction. What does it take to write about a bygone era? How much r Join us on Wednesday, July 18, for a special day-long discussion of historical fiction.
How much research does it take to make the past come alive? On Wednesday, July 18, our panel of acclaimed authors will answer these questions and more! If you have a question you'd like to ask, join the group! The participating authors are: Alma Katsu C.
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We will not remove any content for bad language alone, or being critical of a particular book. Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. When I Was Puerto Rican 4. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. Conquistadora 3. Want to Read saving… Error rating book.
Almost a Woman 4. Upon graduating magna cum laude in , she and Frank Cantor, her husband, founded Cantomedia, a film and production company that has won numerous awards for excellence in documentary filmmaking.
She has done extensive work for victims of domestic violence, including helping found a Youth Service Center and a shelter for battered women in Massachusetts. Her first book, a memoir of her childhood entitled When I Was Puerto Rican appeared in to great critical acclaim.
She soon followed this memoir with the novel America's Dream. Her most recent novel is entitled Almost a Woman. Aside from her achievements as a writer, Esmeralda Santiago is also an editor.
Santiago's memoir of her Puerto Rican childhood culminates in her move to New York, where she gained an education, but lost the sense of belonging, within a family and within a culture, once so strong in her childhood.
Santiago gives the point of view of the child in the earlier sections of the memoir. What is particularly appealing about Santiago's story is the insight it offers to readers unaware of the double bind Puerto Rican Americans find themselves in: the identity in conflict.
Is [she] black or white? Is she rural or urban? Even more importantly, is she Puerto Rican or is she American?
Her journey to a new country, like that of many Puerto Ricans touched on in her book, captures the experience of many American immigrant groups.
But as I've traveled around the country talking about it, people tell me that, while the culture I'm describing may not be the same as the one they grew up in, the feelings and experiences are familiar, and some of the events could have been taken from their own lives.
It has been particularly poignant to speak to immigrants who have returned to their countries, only to discover how much they have changed by immersion in North American culture.
They accept and understand the irony of the past tense in the title, the feeling that, while at one time they could not identify themselves as anything but the nationality to which they were born, once they've lived in the U.
The merging of two cultures proves to be a challenge to many immigrants, and Santiago explores these difficulties of change in her memoir. In her words, hopes of finding a balance between the two cultures is of utmost importance. In finding the balance, merging the past with the future, perhaps Santiago will be able to understand and claim her identity. I felt as Puerto Rican as when I left the island, but to those who had never left, I was contaminated by Americanisms, and therefore, had become less than Puerto Rican.
Yet, in the United States, my darkness, my accented speech, my frequent lapses into the confused silence between English and Spanish identified me as foreign, non-American. In writing the book I wanted to get back to that feeling of Puertoricanness I had before I came here. Its title reflects who I was then, and asks, who am I today? The novel may be seen in light of cultural identification, as the main character America merges her Puerto Rican culture with that of the American culture.
However, there is also another theme that permeates the novel. The relationships of mothers and daughters and the time of childhood, appear to be one of the focal points of the novel.
It will speak to anyone who. In America's effort to overcome the limitations given to the cycle of womanhood and motherhood, she faces the challenge of not losing her bond with both her mother and her daughter.
The novel explores the complexity of maintaining rather than severing the bond that exists between the two, despite distance and hardships. Another relationship explored in the novel by Santiago is the cycle of abusive relationships, which is seen through America's relationship with her boyfriend, Correa, who is the father of her daughter. Santiago, in writing this novel, illustrates the challenges of a woman in the Puerto Rican culture. The difficulty of rising from lower class society and making a future for oneself seems almost unattainable.
America's dream signifies the hope in change. In dreaming of having her own home, driving her own car, and having an ideal family, America takes the reader through an emotional and psychological journey into the challenges of many Latina women.
It is Santiago's eloquence with words that capture the essence of her writing style and her search for cultural identity. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Did you know only three cents of every philanthropic dollar goes to media nonprofits, and only one cent goes to Latino nonprofits? Your donation to Latino USA will make a difference. Join us for monthly updates!
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