MANY CULTURES * ONE WORLD "Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Boricua is a powerful word that tells the origin and history of the Puerto Rican people." --From the Introduction From the sun-drenched beaches of a beautiful, flamboyan-covered island to the cool, hard pavement of the fierce South Bronx, the remarkable journey of the Puerto Rican people is a rich story full of daring defiance, courageous strength, fierce passions, and dangerous politics--and it is a story that continues to be told today. Long ignored by Anglo literature studies, here are more than fifty selections of poetry, fiction, plays, essays, monologues, screenplays, and speeches from some of the most vibrant and original voices in Puerto Rican literature. * Jack Agüeros * Miguel Algarín * Julia de Burgos * Pedro Albizu Campos * Lucky CienFuegos * Judith Ortiz Cofer * Jesus Colon * Victor Hern ndez Cruz * José de Diego * Martin Espada * Sandra Maria Esteves * Ronald Fernandez * José Luis Gonzalez * Migene Gonzalez-Wippler * Maria Graniela de Pruetzel * Pablo Guzman * Felipe Luciano * René Marqués * Luis Muñoz Marín * Nicholasa Mohr * Aurora Levins Morales * Martita Morales * Rosario Morales * Willie Perdomo * Pedro Pietri * Miguel Piñero * Reinaldo Povod * Freddie Prinze * Geraldo Rivera * Abraham Rodriguez, Jr. * Clara E. Rodriguez * Esmeralda Santiago * Roberto Santiago * Pedro Juan Soto * Piri Thomas * Edwin Torres * José Torres * Joseph B. Vasquez * Ana Lydia Vega

A collection of twenty pieces written by some of the most important Puerto Rican writers as well as several provocative new authors. Selections range from poignant autobiographical recollections to painful memories of a childhood that is neither here nor there; of questions of identity, conflicted loyalties, language and culture. It explores the youthful passion, love, anguish, and shared experiences involved in growing up Puerto Rican in America.

"A collection of poems in a new street-born language, Nuyorican; a dynamic English-Spanish contrapunctal expression of the anger and aspirations of the Puerto Rican. English nouns function as verbs. Spanish verbs function as adjectives. Raw life needs raw verbs and nouns to express the action and to name the quality of the experience."--Jacket.