"It is my voice": A survey of Latina writers in Latino Literature Anthologies

CRESCI, KAREN LORRAINE

Houston

Congreso; XV Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Conference, Histories and Cultures of Latinas: Suffrage, Activism and Women?s Rights; 2020

University of Texas, Houston Downtown, Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program

Anthologies play a central role in Latino literary canon formation since they help increase the visibility of the writers who are deemed worthy of being included. Although the growth in the publication of U.S. Latina literature by women of the 1980s led to their recognition within the Latino literary canon and also the American canon, their forerunners have received much less attention. A survey of Latino literature anthologies can contribute to the understanding of the cultural legacy of early Latina authors. This paper aims to explore the place Latina authors who wrote before 1960 occupy in Latino literature anthologies published between 1990 and 2010. An analysis focusing on the degree of coincidences of the Latina authors included in these collections, allows us to examine who, according to the editors, are considered the main early Latina writers. Turning our attention to these publications might shed some light on the issue of Latino canon formation and the representation and legitimation of Latina voices within this canon, as well as the mechanisms of cultural and political representation that underlie the creation of an anthology.