Carmen Boullosa: In Between Brooklyn and Coyoacan

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