Rudolfo Anaya: Bless Me, Ultima; Tortuga; Alburquerque (LOA #361)

"Mythmaker, master storyteller, and a writer powerfully attuned to the land and history of his native New Mexico, Rudolfo Anaya is one of the undisputed fathers of Chicano literature. Writing in an era when Latino voices were marginalized and just beginning to be read and acknowledged, Anaya broke new ground with Bless Me, Ultima (1972), a mythic novel that captures the richness and complexity of history, community, and place in the American Southwest. Bless Me, Ultima, read eagerly and widely before receiving even a single mainstream review, launched Anaya on an acclaimed literary career. Tortuga (1979), drawing on his own experience of suffering and recuperation after a diving accident as a teenager, is set in a rehabilitation center for disabled children. And in the 1992 novel Alburquerque (restoring the original 'r' that was removed from the city's name), a young boxing champion discovers that his white biological mother had given him up for adoption at birth, spurring him to reevaluate everything he had thought himself to be"--

About the author

Rudolfo Anaya (1937–2020) was born in the village of Pastura, New Mexico, and moved with his family to Albuquerque at the age of 14. His first and best-known novel, Bless Me, Ultima, was published in 1972. Adapted as a play, an opera, and a feature film, Bless Me, Ultima has also been subject to bans from the early 1980s to the 2010s in New Mexico, Colorado, California, and Arizona. His other novels include Heart of Atzlan (1976), Tortuga (1979), Alburquerque (1992), and a series of crime novels featuring detective Sonny Baca. His many awards include the National Humanities Medal, presented in 2016 by President Barack Obama.     
  
Luis Alberto Urrea is a novelist, short story writer, poet, and memoirist who is currently distinguished professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago. His numerous prizes and awards include a Lannan Literary Award, the Kiriyama Prize, the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Literary Award, an Edgar Award, and a citation of excellence from the American Library Association. His most recent books are Good Night, Irene and Zebras in Tijuana. 
 

Summary

Library of America presents a definitive collection of the founder of modern Chicano literature

Mythmaker, master storyteller, and a writer powerfully attuned to the land and history of his native New Mexico, Rudolfo Anaya is one of the undisputed fathers of Chicano literature.
 
Writing in an era when Latino voices were marginalized and just beginning to be read and acknowledged, Anaya broke new ground with Bless Me, Ultima (1972), a mythic novel that captures the richness and complexity of history, community, and place in the American Southwest. Set just after World War II in eastern New Mexico, Bless Me, Ultima revolves around the young boy Antonio and his quest to understand his identity and the prospects for his future. Although his mother imagines that we will become a Catholic priest, Antonio is drawn to the charismatic Ultima, an elderly curandera or healer who embodies wisdom stretching back to the pre-Columbian past and is linked to the primal forces of nature.
   
Two later novels show his continued sensitivity to the subtleties of identity and the pull of the Rio Grande Valley on its people and communities. Tortuga (1979), drawing on his own experience of suffering and recuperation after a diving accident as a teenager, is set in a rehabilitation center for disabled children. The story of young Salomon, called “Tortuga” because his body cast encases him like a turtle’s shell, explores the realities of bodily pain and the obligations we owe to one another.
 
And in the 1992 novel Alburquerque (restoring the original “r” that was removed from the city’s name), a young boxing champion discovers that his white biological mother had given him up for adoption at birth, spurring him to reevaluate everything he had thought himself to be.  Characteristically fusing emotionally powerful characterizations, political commentary, humor, and lyrical writing, Anaya reveals himself to be an indispensable American fabulist.   
 

Product details

• Authors: Rudolfo Anaya, Luis Urrea
• Publisher: Library of America
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 13.09.2022
• EAN: 9781598537291
• ISBN: 978-1-59853-729-1
• No. of pages: 768
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 207 mm x 32 mm
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature