The Chicano poet offers a collection of poems from the last fifteen years, including fourteen new works that discuss love, sex, and AIDS.

"Al otro lado de la vida", es una emocionante historia de amor, atrapada en el escalofriante escenario de un hogar mancillado por la crueldad y la cobardía de un hombre que maltrata a su esposa. Ella se mueve al límite, y oscila entre la razón y la sinrazón, la cordura y la locura, en un dramático esfuerzo por torcer las líneas del destino. De la mano de sus personajes, el lector podrá vivir aventuras inolvidables, nutridas de una vibrante intriga y pasión, con lo que consigue transmitir al lector todo su realismo. En ella se muestran además escenarios muy distintos al del hogar, destacando entre ellos aventuras en África y en París, entre otros.

Jaime Saenz is arguably the greatest Bolivian writer of the twentieth century. His poetry is apocalyptic, transcendent, hallucinatory, brilliant--and, until recently, available only in Spanish. Forrest Gander and Kent Johnson's translations of Saenz's work have garnered much-deserved attention and acclaim. Here for the first time in English they give us his masterpiece, The Night, Saenz's most famous poem and the last he wrote before his death in 1986. An unusual man, Saenz lived his whole life in La Paz, Bolivia, seldom venturing far from the city and its indigenous culture that feature so prominently in his writings. He sought God in unlikely places: slum taverns, alcoholic excess, the street. Saenz was nocturnal. He once stole a leg from a cadaver and hid it under his bed. On his wedding night he brought home a panther. In this epic poem, Saenz explores the singular themes that possessed him: alcoholism, death, nightmares, identity, otherness, and his love for La Paz. The poem's four movements culminate in some of the most profoundly mystical, beautiful, and disturbing passages of modern Latin American poetry. They are presented here in this faithful and inspired English translation of the Spanish original. Complete with an introduction by the translators that paints a vivid picture of the poet's life, and an afterword by Luis H. Antezana, a notable Bolivian literary critic and close friend of Saenz, this bilingual edition is the essential introduction to one of the most visionary and enigmatic poets of the Hispanic world.

Since 1994, the Camino del Sol series has been one of the premier vehicles for Latina/o literary voices. Launched under the auspices of Chicana/o luminary Ray Gonzalez, it quickly established itself in both the Latina/o community and the publishing world as it garnered awards for its outstanding writing. Featuring both established writers and first-time authors, Camino del Sol has published poetry and prose that convey something about the Latina/o experience—works that tap into universal truths through a distinct cultural lens. This volume celebrates fifteen years of books by bringing together some of the series’ best work, such as poetry from Francisco X. Alarcón, fiction from Christine Granados, and nonfiction from Luis Alberto Urrea. These voices echo the entire spectrum of Latina/o writing, from Chicana/o to Puerto Rican to Brazilian-American, and take in themes ranging from migration to gender. Awards bestowed upon Camino del Sol titles include the PEN/Beyond Margins Award to Richard Blanco’s Directions to the Beach of the Dead; Before Columbus Foundation American Book Awards to Diana García’s When Living Was a Labor Camp and Luis Alberto Urrea’s Nobody’s Son; International Latino Book Awards to Pat Mora’s Adobe Odes and Kathleen Alcalá’s The Desert Remembers My Name; the Premio Aztlán literary prize to Sergio Troncoso’s The Last Tortilla; and the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles National Literary Award to Kathleen de Azevedo’s Samba Dreamers. All of these works are represented in this outstanding collection. In a short span of time, Camino del Sol has cultivated an admirable and sizeable list of distinguished contemporary authors—and even garnered the first National Book Critics Circle Award for a Chicana/o for Juan Felipe Herrera’s Half of the World in Light. Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing is a benchmark for the series and a wonderful introduction to the world of Latina/o literature.

San Diego's Border Voices has been one of the nation's largest poetry festivals for fourteen years, featuring nationally renowned poets, prize winning student poets from San Diego county, and a cadre of poetry teachers from throughout the school district. This poetry book collects together the best poems from fourteen years of festivals, featuring poems by students, teachers, and national poets. Includes biographical notes on major poets. Major poets include Francisco X. Alarcn, Billy Collins, Robert Creeley, Dana Gioia, Galway Kinnell, Steve Kowit, Philip Levine, Sharon Olds, Robert Pinsky, Adrienne Rich, Luis Rodrguez, Gary Snyder, Gary Soto, and Mark Strand.

Reveals the dependence of American ethnic identity on Spain and Spanish imperialism.