Carmen Boullosa: In Between Brooklyn and Coyoacan
María del Mar López-Cabrales, María Rosario Matz (Eds.)
by Michael Paul Abeyta (University of Colorado Denver), Emily Hind (University of Florida), Assia Mohssine (Université Clermont Auvergne), Ericka H. Parra Téllez (Valdosta State University), María Rosario Matz (University of Massachusetts Lowell), María Inés Canto (Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO), Carmen Boullosa , María del Mar López-Cabrales (Colorado State University)
Purchase this book
(click here to change currency)
Long-awaited first compilation of previously unpublished essays on Carmen Boullosa, plus a superbly translated interview with the author, all prepared for English readers. Editors María del Mar López-Cabrales and María R. Matz provide us with a comprehensive perspective on the influential Mexican writer based in Brooklyn.
Dr. Vicente Lecuna
Professor and Chair
Department of Modern Languages & Literatures
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York
"Carmen Boullosa In Between Brooklyn and Coyoacán” de María del Mar López-Cabrales and María R. Matz es un libro necesario para entender en su justa medida la profundidad de la obra literaria de esta gran escritora mexicana quien vive, observa, reflexiona y transita constantemente entre dos mundos, dos idiomas, dos cosmovisiones –un transitar que marca la época global en que vivimos. Esta edición analiza con gran tino distintos aspectos de la curiosidad intelectual de Boullosa, una curiosidad que ha dado origen a gran parte de sus obras; en ellas la autora visita ese pasado del cual nunca tendremos noción exacta, para llevarnos a un mundo especulativo sobre las historias no contadas de ese pasado, y en él, sobre el lugar que ocupaban, o pudieron ocupar, las mujeres. López-Cabrales y Matz han capturado en esta producción académica los aspectos más llamativos de una autora desafiante de cánones tradicionales e imaginativa quien además se nos presenta en su calidad de ser humano entrañable, como lo demuestra la entrevista conducida por las autoras al final del libro.
Una acertada selección de expertos en literatura mexicana, incluyendo a las editoras, nos brinda una colección de ensayos que analizan aspectos específicos de la cuentística, las novelas, y el pensamiento crítico de Boullosa, ideal para adentrarnos en un mejor entendimiento de los motivos que incitan en esta autora la vasta producción que le conocemos.
No existe una colección de ensayos similar para adentrarse en la obra de Boullosa. ¡Felicidades a las editoras por esta excelente idea y por la cuidadosa selección de contribuyentes! “Carmen Boullosa In Between Brooklyn and Coyoacán” se convierte en una publicación necesaria en las bibliotecas de todos los estudiosos de la literatura contemporánea mexicana –la de la era global, la que nace aquí y allá, sin deshacerse jamás del sello de la mexicanidad.
Dr. Hilda Chacón
Chairperson World Languages and Cultures
Professor, Spanish and Latin American Cultures and Literature
Nazareth University
Focusing on the works of Mexican writer Carmen Boullosa for the English reader, this volume provides access to a critical analysis of Boullosa’s writings. Her daily writing has produced an enormous and varied literary corpus that includes narrative, theater, and poetry, in addition to her work in television. This volume is divided into three different segments. The initial part is composed of six essays that analyze Boullosa’s narrative and theatrical works. In these essays contributors evaluate and analyze Boullosa’s literary production, covering many of her novels, including 'Antes' (1989), 'Llanto: novelas imposibles' (1992), 'La Milagrosa' (1993) 'Cielos de la Tierra' (1997), 'La otra mano de Lepanto' (2005), 'La novela perfecta' (2006), 'El complot de los Románticos' (2009), 'Cuando me volví mortal' (2010), 'Las paredes hablan' (2012), 'Texas' (2014), and 'El libro de Ana' (2019) as well as her 'Teatro herético' (1987). By analyzing her literary corpus, contributors explore how she reshapes historical narratives and offers thought-provoking commentaries on our modern society and its problems. Boullosa’s writings invite an in-depth analysis due to their rich complexity and explorations of various themes, therefore this volume presents how her work has a significant social impact, prompting discussions on the topics of gender, power, history, social inequality, and cultural diversity while encouraging critical thinking and empathy. These critical essays are followed by an interview with the author. We decided to also include the Spanish version of this interview for those able to read it. Boullosa’s essay, 'Épica mía/ Mi épica (My Epic)' concludes this volume. When reading this essay, we suggest to the reader to keep in mind how often her works provide a voice to characters for whom History refused to grant one. This volume will provide its reader with a key to discovering the many layers present in Boullosa’s writing.
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 Voices against Empire:
Shifting Borders, Decoloniality, and Deterritorialized Subjects in La otra mano de Lepanto and Texas by Carmen Boullosa
Michael Paul Abeyta
University of Colorado Denver
Chapter 2 Boullosa, Driver’s License, and the Energy Gratitude Test
Emily Hind
University of Florida
Chapter 3 The Decolonial Option in Carmen Boullosa’s Llanto. Novelas imposibles
Assia Mohssine
Université Clermont Auvergne
Chapter 4 Symbolic Violence: Virgins, Witches and Cooks in Carmen Boullosa’s Dramaturgy
Ericka H. Parra Téllez
Valdosta State University
Chapter 5 Las Paredes Hablan a Crossroad between Time and Memory
María R. Matz
University Massachusetts, Lowell
Chapter 6 The Scar of Writing Pleasure in El Libro de Ana
María Inés Canto
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO
Chapter 7 A Kaleidoscopic Look at the World of Carmen Boullosa
Interview with the Author. November 2021
María del Mar López Cabrales
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO
María R. Matz
University Massachusetts, Lowell
Chapter 8 Épica mía/ My Epic
Carmen Boullosa
Contributors
Index
María del Mar López-Cabrales is a professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Colorado State University. Professor López-Cabrales teaches Latin American and Spanish culture and literature. Her research focuses on the intersection of literature and culture in Latin America and Spain, as well as on Women and Gender Studies. She has been the Editor of 'Confluencia' since Fall 2018 and is particularly interested in women's writing as a "space" in which women create social discourses and communicate with each other.
María R. Matz is an associate professor of Latin American Studies and Culture and chair in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at UMass Lowell. She is the coordinator for the Spanish program and teaches courses in Languages, Film and Latin American Culture and Literature. From an interdisciplinary approach, her current research and scholarship reflect an interest in transnational literature and human rights, feminist theatre and performance in the Americas, as well as film studies.
Carmen Boullosa, Mexican novel, Mexico, My epic, Boullosa’s theater, women writings in the Americas, Boullosa’s interviews
See also
Bibliographic Information
Book Title
Carmen Boullosa: In Between Brooklyn and Coyoacan
ISBN
978-1-64889-907-2
Edition
1st
Number of pages
174
Physical size
236mm x 160mm
