Permissible Narratives: The Promise of Latino/A Literature (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780814213506)

In his groundbreaking new study, Permissible Narratives: The Promise of Latino/a Literature, Christopher González examines the difficulties Latina/o writers face in writing beyond the narrow expectations of U.S. readership in the stories they tell. González argues that a constrained conception of the possibilities of storytelling by and about Latinos diminishes the development and progression of narrative form. Through an examination of Latina/o writers against the a priori mode of engaging with nonethnic literature in the United States, González explores the limitations and challenges Latina/o authors have confronted via the shaping power of their narratives to reach a sustainable audience.

Bringing together cultural critique, memory, narratology, cognition, and comprehension, González examines Latina/o authors-such as Oscar "Zeta" Acosta, Gloria Anzaldúa, Piri Thomas, Giannina Braschi, Gilbert Hernandez, Sandra Cisneros, and Junot Díaz-investigating how they successfully, and sometimes unsuccessfully, use the expansive canvas of narrative form to capture the imaginations of an open-minded readership. Permissible Narratives highlights both the inequitable accessibility of narrative devices and, crucially, the daring of Latina/o authors to nurture a readership to afford the same literary deference to them that is so often afforded to white, male, straight authors.


Author: Christopher González
ISBN-10: 0814213502
ISBN-13: 9780814213506
Publisher: Ohio State University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/21/2017
Pages: 230
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.63d