Using concrete details and references, describe the aesthetic experience of Anzaldua’s Borderlands. Is this literature? What genres are represented? History? Historiography? The essay? Autobiography? Prose? Poetry? Something else…?
Gloria Anzaldua’s book, Borderlands/La Frontera; The New Mestiza is a series of anecdotes, poetry, and unfiltered thoughts. She is identified by one contemporary “…as an artist, as an activist, and as a political and social theorist.” Not only a Hispanic woman, but a Hispanic lesbian coming of age in the sometimes violent social upheaval of the 1960’s, Anzaldua’s work reflect the confusion and different influences she must have felt. She jumps from a poem (“El otro Mexico”), to a dissertation on the meaning of the word “border”. From there she gives us an anecdote about her brother. Her work is all of the above mentioned generes; certainly it is personal, autobiographical, a history lesson that has been conveniently left out of the Anglo history books. Her writing gives us a chance to jump into her brain and share her stream-of-consciousness, her memories, the stories that have touched her and shaped who she became. Unfortunately for all, Anzaldua died in 2003, and perhaps did not get to see the impact she had far and wide, as shown by the number and scope of people who’ve written her introduction. However, it goes without saying that what she’s created is her own type of literature that is unique and heartfelt, gut-wrenching and bold; Anzaldua’s brand is different from damn-near anything else out there.
Recent Comments