Author Description

Iguana Dreams is the first anthology of contemporary Latino fiction, featuring the work of twenty-nine writers from diverse Latino ethnic groups who live in the United States and write in English. Including new fiction from Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominican Americans, and Chilean Americans, Iguana Dreams samples in a single volume the wide range of cultures and experience that mark the Latino community. United most strikingly by a bilingualism that makes it possible to think and feel in two languages, Latino writers have long been enriching the American language and making an invaluable contribution to the culture of the United States. Gathered together for the first time are stories, sketches, and selections from in-progress works by newly recognized talents as well as authors of landmark works of Latino literature. Arranged alphabetically by author, this anthology presents fiction that echoes the peasant or campesino tradition of rural life, with its strong ties to the land, next to stories evoking life inside the urban American barrio. Where indigenous Mexican religion permeates Catholicism in one story, Santeria - a blend of Catholicism and African religions - underlies the world of another. Populated by fresh characters and representing diverse and inventive styles, each contribution offers a unique and illuminating perspective on what it means to be Latino. As a composite, these works evidence a vital and flourishing literature that explores the universal themes of coming of age, war, death, and love, as well as the more particular experiences of assimilation and cultural survival by Latinos in the United States today. Iguana Dreams provides a rich and inspiring resource for discussion and interpretation by the general reader as well as by students and writers of Latino fiction. Timely and exciting, it showcases the literary imagination, voices, and cultural experiences of the fastest-growing ethnic group in this country.