Chicana o literature frequently depicts characters who exist in a vulnerable liminal space living on the border between Mexican and American identities and sometimes pushed to the edge by authorities who seek to restrict their freedom As this groundbreaking new study reveals the books themselves have occupied similarly precarious positions as Chicana o literature has struggled for economic viability and visibility on the margins of the American publishing industry while Chicana o writers have grappled with editorial practices that compromise their creative autonomy From the Edge reveals the tangled textual histories behind some of the most cherished works in the Chicana o literary canon tracing the negotiations between authors editors and publishers that determined how these books appeared in print Allison Fagan demonstrates how the texts surrounding the authors words from editorial prefaces to Spanish language glossaries from cover illustrations to reviewers blurbs have crucially shaped the reception of Chicana o literature To gain an even richer perspective on the politics of print she ultimately explores one more border space studying the marks and remarks that readers have left in the margins of these books From the Edge vividly demonstrates that to comprehend fully the roles that ethnicity language class and gender play within Chicana o literature we must understand the material conditions that governed the production publication and reception of these works By teaching us how to read the borders of the text it demonstrates how we might perceive and preserve the faint traces of those on the margins

From the Edge PDF

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