Category Archives: Displays

Promo image for Arabs in Latin America display

Arabs in Latin America: Resources at UT Libraries

By Katie Coldiron

An Introduction

It is impossible to think about Latin America without considering the lasting impact and contributions by those of Arab descent living in the region. Beginning in the latter nineteenth century and peaking in the first 3 decades of the twentieth century, immigrants from Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and others were migrating to the Western Hemisphere for a mix of political, cultural, religious, and economic reasons. From there, many of these individuals and their descendants became leaders in business, politics, and Arab cultural organizations. Their presence varies within different Latin American countries. Notable contemporary Latin American figures of Arab descent include, but are not limited to, the following: Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, Colombian singer Shakira, Mexican actress Salma Hayek, former President of Brazil Michel Temer, and current President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele.

This blog post seeks to highlight materials about the Arab diaspora in Latin America available digitally via UT Libraries and Open Access resources. These materials include ebooks and primary-source web resources from some of Latin America’s Arab-descent communities. The materials are organized into the following categories: economic and political influence of the Arab diaspora in Latin America, religion among the Arab diaspora in Latin America, migration of Arabs to Latin America, and Arab Latin American publications.

Economic and Political Influence of the Arab Diaspora in Latin America

  1. Another arabesque: Syrian-Lebanese ethnicity in neoliberal Brazil by John Tofik Karam
    • This book is an exploration of how Brazilians of Syrian-Lebanese heritage have gained a footing in Brazil’s increasingly globalized economy, particularly with regard to transactions with nations of the Arab Gulf.
    • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.
  2. Carlos Slim: retrato inédito by José Martínez
    • This is a biography of the world’s once-richest man, the Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim. The first chapter contextualizes Slim’s success within his family’s history in Mexico as immigrants from Lebanon.
    • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.
  3. El harén: Menem, Zulema, Seineldín: los árabes y el poder político en la Argentina by Norma Morandini
    • This book, written by an Argentine of Arab descent, paints a picture of three Peronist Argentine politicians fraught with controversy. It seeks to go beyond negative stereotypes of Arabs in Argentina and explore how these individual figures came to their positions of power and ideology.
    • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.

Religion Among the Arab Diaspora in Latin America

  1. The Jews of Latin America by Judith Laikin Elkin
    • This is a comprehensive history of the Jewish presence in Latin America from migration onwards. The establishments of synagogues in different areas throughout the region are featured.
    • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.

Migration of Arabs to Latin America

    1. Los libaneses en México: asimilación de un grupo étnico by Carmen Mercedes Paéz Oropeza
      • This book offers an extensive history of the Lebanese presence in Mexico, beginning from push factors for immigrants and expanding into which parts of Mexico received the most Lebanese immigrants.
      • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.
    2. Los “turcos” de Lorica : presencia de los árabes en el caribe colombiano 1880-1960 by Joaquín Viloria de la Hoz

 

  • This is a history of the arrival of Arabs to a colonial city in the Colombian Caribbean. While it is not as large as Cartagena or Barranquilla, this resource shows the importance that Lorica, a city once known for extensive trade and merchant activity, had for arriving Arabs to Colombia. Furthermore, it shows the lasting impacts that Arabs themselves had on the city, particularly in regard to architectural styles, social clubs, and commercial activity.Image of Syrians living in Brazil
  • Temporarily available for checkout via HathiTrust.
  1. Museu da Imigração do Estado de São Paulo: Acervo Digital
    • This is an online digital archive of materials from the Immigration Museum of the State of São Paulo in Brazil. Photos, immigration records, and other resources are freely available. The photo below comes from this collection, and is the storefront of an establishment in São Paulo owned by Brazilians of Syrian descent.

Arab Latin American Publications

  1. Diario Sirio Libanés
    • This is a magazine of the Syrian-Lebanese community in Argentina. It includes resources related to this community, as well as events and news of interest from other parts of the world.
  2. Diario Armenia
    • This resource is a publication of Argentina’s Armenian community. It includes news of interest to Armenians both inside and outside of Argentina.
  3. Revista Al Damir
    • This magazine is a publication of the Palestinian community in Chile. Its name comes from the Arabic word for “awareness.” It covers a variety of topics of interest to this community, such as interviews and regular columnists.

This post is based on an exhibit planned for the PCL third floor display shelf. Due to extenuating circumstances regarding the coronavirus, the exhibit will hopefully go up at a later date.

For more information on resources made available by UT Libraries, check out this research guide about Arabs in Latin America.

Written by Katie Coldiron, M.A. in Latin American Studies and MSIS candidate, UT Austin School of Information. She is the current GRA for Global Studies Digital Projects at UT Libraries.

Promotional Image for Exploring Black Futures display

Exploring Black Futures

For Black History Month 2020, we’re using N.K. Jemisin’s How Long ‘til Black Future Month as a jumping off point to explore black futures in the library collection. Visit the display on the 3rd floor of PCL throughout the month of February to check out these items.

“But this is no awkward dystopia, where all are forced to conform.” ~ N.K. Jemisin, How Long ’til Black Future Month?

“All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change.” ~ Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

Short Stories & Essays

  1. How long ’til black future month?Image of book cover: How Long 'til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin by N. K. Jemisin
    •  In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination.
  2. Conversations with Octavia Butler by Octavia Butler
    • In interviews ranging from 1980 until just before her sudden death in 2006, Conversations with Octavia Butler reveals a writer very much aware of herself as the “rare bird” of science fiction even as she shows frustration with the constant question,”How does it feel to be the only one?”
  3. Octavia’s brood: Science fiction stories from social justice movements by Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown
    • Whenever we envision a world without war, without prisons, without capitalism, we are producing speculative fiction. Organizers and activists envision, and try to create, such worlds all the time. Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown have brought twenty of them together in the first anthology of short stories to explore the connections between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change.
  4. Stories for Chip: A tribute to Samuel R. Delaney by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell
    • From surrealistic visions of bucolic road trips to erotic transgressions to mind-expanding analyses of Delany’s influence on the genre—as an out gay man, an African American, and possessor of a startlingly acute intellect—this book conveys the scope of the subject’s sometimes troubling, always rewarding genius.
  5. So long been dreaming: Postcolonial science fiction & fantasy by Nalo Hopkinson & Uppinder Mehan, eds.
    • The wealth of postcolonial literature has included many who have written insightfully about their pasts and presents. With So Long Been Dreaming they creatively address their futures.
  6. Dark matter: A century of speculative fiction from the African diaspora by Sheree R. Thomas
    • This volume introduces black science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers to the generations of readers who have not had the chance to explore the scope and diversity among African-American writers.
  7. Flame wars: the discourse of cyberculture by Mark Dery
    •  As the essays in this book confirm, there is more to fringe computer culture than cyberspace. Within these pages, readers will encounter flame warriors; new age mutant ninja hackers; technopagans for whom the computer is an occult engine. The term “afrofuturism” was coined in the essay “Black to the Future” in this collection.

Fiction

  1. Image of book cover: The Fifth Season by N. K. JemisinThe inheritance trilogy by N. K. Jemisin
    • Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.
  2. The fifth season by N. K. Jemisin
    • Essun, masquerading as an ordinary schoolteacher in a quiet small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Mighty Sanze, the empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years, collapses as its greatest city is destroyed by a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heartland of the world’s sole continent, a great red rift has been torn which spews ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries
  3. The obelisk gate by N. K. Jemisin
    • The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring — madman, world-crusher, savior — has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever. It continues with a lost daughter, found by the enemy. It continues with the obelisks, and an ancient mystery converging on answers at last. The Stillness is the wall which stands against the flow of tradition, the spark of hope long buried under the thickening ashfall. And it will not be broken.
  4. The stone sky by N. K. Jemisin
    • Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.
  5. Image of book cover: Parable of the Sower by Octavia ButlerParable of the sower by Octavia Butler
    • The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman with the hereditary train of “hyperempathy”—which causes her to feel others’ pain as her own—sets off on foot along the dangerous coastal highways, moving north into the unknown.
  6. Parable of the talents by Octavia Butler
    • Parable of the Talents is told in the voice of Lauren Olamina’s daughter—from whom she has been separated for most of the girl’s life—with sections in the form of Lauren’s journal. Against a background of a war-torn continent, and with a far-right religious crusader in the office of the U.S. presidency, this is a book about a society whose very fabric has been torn asunder, and where the basic physical and emotional needs of people seem almost impossible to meet.
  7. Patternmaster by Octavia Butler
    • The Patternist is a telepathic race, commanded by the Patternmaster, whose thoughts can destroy, heal, rule. Coransee, son of the ruling Patternmaster, wants the throne and will stop at nothing to get it, including venture into the wild mutant-infested hills to destroy a young apprentice—his equal and his brother.
  8. Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney
    • Babel-17, winner of the Nebula Award for best novel of the year, is a fascinating tale of a famous poet bent on deciphering a secret language that is the key to the enemy’s deadly force, a task that requires she travel with a splendidly improbable crew to the site of the next attack.
  9. Dhalgren by Samuel Delaney
    • Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. The population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. Into this disaster zone comes a young man–poet, lover, and adventurer–known only as the Kid.
  10. Everfair by Nisi Shawl
    • Fabian Socialists from Great Britain join forces with African-American missionaries to purchase land from the Belgian Congo’s “owner,” King Leopold II. This land, named Everfair, is set aside as a safe haven, an imaginary Utopia for native populations of the Congo as well as escaped slaves returning from America and other places where African natives were being mistreated.
  11. Image of book cover: Binti by Nnedi OkoraforBinti by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
  12. Who fears death by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Born into post-apocalyptic Africa to a mother who was raped after the slaughter of her entire tribe, Onyesonwu is tutored by a shaman and discovers that her magical destiny is to end the genocide of her people.
  13. An unkindness of ghosts by Rivers Solomon
    •  Aster lives in the lowdeck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship’s leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer, Aster learns there may be a way to improve her lot–if she’s willing to sow the seeds of civil war.
  14. The deep by Rivers Solomon
    • Yetu holds the memories for her people — water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners — who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one — the historian.
  15. Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxane Gay
    • You know them now as the Midnight Angels, but in this story they are just Ayo and Aneka, young women recruited to become Dora Milaje, an elite task force trained to protect the crown of Wakanda at all costs. Their first assignment will be to protect Queen Shuri… but what happens when your nation needs your hearts and minds, but you already gave them to each other?
  16. Electric Arches by Eve L. Ewing
    • Blending stark realism with the surreal and fantastic, Eve L. Ewings narrative takes us from the streets of 1990s Chicago to an unspecified future, deftly navigating the boundaries of space, time, and reality. Ewing imagines familiar figures in magical circumstancesblues legend Koko Taylor is a tall-tale hero; LeBron James travels through time and encounters his teenage self.
  17. Image of book cover: The Gilda Stories by Jewelle GomezThe Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
    • Escaping from slavery in the 1850s Gilda’s longing for kinship and community grows over two hundred years. Her induction into a family of benevolent vampires takes her on an adventurous and dangerous journey full of loud laughter and subtle terror.
  18. Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett
    • A computer program etched into the atmosphere has a story to tell, the story of two people, of a city lost to chaos, of survival and love. The program’s data, however, has been corrupted. As the novel’s characters struggle to survive apocalypse, they are sustained and challenged by the demands of love in a shattered world both haunted and dangerous.
  19. The galaxy game by Karen Lord
    • On the verge of adulthood, Rafi attends the Lyceum, a school for the psionically gifted. Rafi possesses mental abilities that might benefit people or control them. Some wish to help Rafi wield his powers responsibly; others see him as a threat to be contained.
  20. The prey of gods by Nicky Drayden
    • In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry which has found a welcome home there. Yes, the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges.
  21. Escaping exodus by Nicky Drayden
    • Rash and unconventional, Seske Kaleigh should be preparing for her future role as clan leader, but her people have just culled their latest beast, and she’s eager to find the cause of the violent tremors plaguing their new home. Defying social barriers, Seske teams up with her best friend, a beast worker, and ventures into restricted areas, searching for answers. Instead, they discover grim truths about the price of life in the void.

Youth

  1. Image of book cover: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi AdeyemiChildren of blood and bone by Tomi Adeyemi
    • Seventeen-year-old Zélie, her older brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari fight to restore magic to the land and activate a new generation of magi, but they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown prince, who believes the return of magic will mean the end of the monarchy.
  2. Akata witch by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.
  3. Akata warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
    • Now stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny Nwazue, along with her friends from the the Leopard Society, travel through worlds, both visible and invisible, to the mysterious town of Osisi, where they fight in a climactic battle to save humanity.
  4. Dread nation by Justina Ireland
    • When families go missing in Baltimore County, Jane McKeene, who is studying to become an Attendant, finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that has her fighting for her life against powerful enemies.

eBooks

  1. Image of book cover: Afrofuturism 2.0 by Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. JonesAfrofuturism 2.0: The rise of astro-blackness by Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. Jones
    • This collection examines the applicability of contemporary expressions of Afrofuturism to the fields of Africana studies, cultural studies, and other areas of academic inquiry. The essays within this book identify the twenty-first-century expressions of Afrofuturism emerging in the areas of metaphysics such as speculative philosophy, religion, visual studies, performance, art, and the philosophy of science and technology.
  2. Afrofuturism and Black Sound Studies Culture, Technology, and Things to Come by Erik Steinskog
    •  In highlighting the place of music within the lived experiences of African Americans, the author analyses how the perspectives of Black Sound Studies complement and overlap with the discussion of sonic Afrofuturism. Focusing upon blackness, technology, and sound, this unique text offers key insights in how music partakes in imagining and constructing the future.
  3. Speculative Blackness by André M. Carrington
    • André M. Carrington analyzes the highly racialized genre of speculative fiction—including science fiction, fantasy, and utopian works, along with their fan cultures—to illustrate the relationship between genre conventions in media and the meanings ascribed to blackness in the popular imagination. Speculative Blackness reveals new understandings of the significance of blackness in twentieth-century American literature and culture.
  4. Afrofuturism: The world of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha Womack
    • This book introduces readers to the burgeoning artists creating Afrofuturist works, the history of innovators in the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and NK Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, topics range from the “alien” experience of blacks in America to the “wake up” cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism.
  5. Posthuman Blackness and the Black Female Imagination by Kristen Lillvis
    •  In this innovative study, Kristen Lillvis supplements historically situated conceptions of blackness with imaginative projections of black futures. This theoretical approach allows her to acknowledge the importance of history without positing a purely historical origin for black identities.
  6. Black Madness : : Mad Blackness by Therí Alyce Pickens
    • Therí Alyce Pickens examines the speculative and science fiction of Octavia Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, and Tananarive Due to rethink the relationship between race and disability, thereby unsettling the common theorization that they are mutually constitutive

DVDs and CDs

  1. Image of movie cover: Black PantherBlack Panther [DVD]
    • King T’Challa returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from divisions within his own country. When two enemies conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must join forces with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Wakandan Special Forces, to prevent Wakanda from being drawn into a world war.
  2. A Seat at the Table by Solange [CD]
    • Calmly cathartic and considerably at odds with mainstream R&B, the progressive set promoted healing and empowerment in response to racial oppression. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Standout single “Cranes in the Sky” (number 74 pop, number 28 R&B/hip-hop) won that year’s Grammy award for Best R&B Performance.
  3. The archandroid by Janelle Monáe [CD]
    • An “emotion picture” brought to you by Janelle Monáe and the Mad Minds of the Wondaland Arts Society. The star-studded featured cast includes the legendary Big Boi of OutKast, renowned poet Saul Williams, psychedelic dance-punk troupe Of Montreal, punk prophets Deep Cotton, and the Wondaland Arch Orchestra.
  4. Parliament’s greatest hits by Parliament [CD]
    • Parliament engaged in a funk free-for-all, blending influences from the godfathers with freaky costumes and themes inspired by ’60s acid culture and science fiction. Parliament hit the R&B Top Ten with funk classics such as “Up for the Down Stroke,” “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk),” “Flast Light,” and “Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop).”
  5. Blade [DVD]
    • When the bloodthirsty Immortals’ lord, Deacon Frost, declares war on the human race, Blade is humanity’s last hope for survival.

Streaming Film

  1. Image of movie cover: The WizThe Wiz
    • A young kindergarten teacher finds herself in the Land of Oz, where she is greeted by Munchkins. She journeys down the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Wiz, and encounters a scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion.

Streaming Music

  1. Space is the place by Sun Ra
    • This is the music that was recorded by Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra for the film Space is the Place. Most of the music on this album is not heard in the film except in short excerpts, and there’s music in the film which is not on this album.

Twitter Handles

  1. Nnedi Okorafor
  2. N. K. Jemisin
  3. Tomi Adeyemi
  4. Janelle Monáe

Native American Heritage Month

by Andres Ramirez

*This post may use some terms and vocabulary that some readers feel are out of date or inaccurate. We recognize the sensitivity of and inherent problems with referring to various indigenous peoples with monolithic and colonizer-imposed terms. For this post, we have made the decision to use the vocabulary of the sources from which information was pulled within its historical and cultural context.

This month, we’re celebrating Native American Heritage Month by highlighting library materials that celebrate Native American lives, accomplishments, and voices. For more information and additional resources, come visit our display on the third floor of PCL!

While this month’s designation has also been referred to under other variants of the name, including “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month,” the current designation reflects growing recognition of the continued presence of Native Peoples, far predating European exploration and colonization. The trend toward the term “Native American” also reflects the misnomer of the term “Indian” as European colonial explorers incorrectly assumed they had found a western passage to India/ East Asia. The term Native American was proposed by the U.S. government. This is an ongoing, evolving term in how Native Peoples identify and describe themselves, as well as how they are identified by others. As Native Peoples are far from being a monolithic identity, some identify as native, indigenous, Indian, First Nations, or specifically to their tribal identity(ies). This can be more complex for individuals with multiple heritage backgrounds.

Native Peoples have served as an inspiration throughout U.S. history, with colonial settlers appropriating aspects of tribal cultures dating from the first act of disobedience by New England colonial people dressing as “Indians” during the Boston Tea Party to protest taxation, through the inspiration of our governmental model taken from the Iroquois confederacy. Even the name of Texas derives from the Caddo language word taysha meaning “friend” or “ally,” which in Spanish was spelled as tejas.

Nearly from the beginning, Native Peoples became stereotyped as “noble savages,” both in need of a civilizing influence and paradoxically idealized as inherently innocent and paragons of ecological responsibility. This tension continues through the ongoing struggles for native civil rights and sovereignty, and as the figures at the forefront of environmental justice movements for sustainable policies like the recent protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline at North Dakota Standing Rock Reservation.

The collective breadth of Native People’s experience calls into question national myths and popular narratives of “manifest destiny” and American exceptionalism. Furthermore, indigenous concepts of tribal governance, land stewardship, alternative cosmologies and deeper relations to the natural world are powerful and timely models for roads forward into future equitable and sustainable societies.

As David Treuer (Ojibwe) explains in The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: “If you want to know America—if you want to see it for what it was and what it is—you need to look at Indian history and at the Indian present. If you do, if we all do, we will see that all the issues posed at the founding of the country have persisted. How do the rights of the many relate to the rights of the few? What is or should be the furthest extent of federal power? How has the relationship between the government and the individual evolved? What are the limits of the executive to execute policy, and to what extent does that matter to us as we go about our daily lives? How do we reconcile the stated ideals of America as a country given to violent acts against communities and individuals? To what degree do we privilege enterprise over people? To what extent does the judiciary shape our understanding of our place as citizens in this country? To what extent should it? What are the limits to the state’s power over the people living within its borders? To ignore the history of Indians in America is to miss how power itself works.”

This month, and every month, we encourage others to explore the rich traditions of the vast spectrum of native tribes and sovereign nations. Here we highlight some books and resources by native authors from this rich and varied tradition.

Collection Highlights

Digital exhibits and resources

Nonfiction

Image of book coverThe heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the present by David Treuer (Ojibwe)

The received idea of Native American history–as promulgated by books like Dee Brown’s mega-bestselling 1970 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee–has been that American Indian history essentially ended with the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. Not only did one hundred fifty Sioux die at the hands of the U. S. Cavalry, the sense was, but Native civilization did as well. Growing up Ojibwe on a reservation in Minnesota, training as an anthropologist, and researching Native life past and present for his nonfiction and novels, David Treuer has uncovered a different narrative.

Shapes of Native nonfiction: Collected essays by contemporary writers edited by Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton

While exploring familiar legacies of personal and collective trauma and violence, these writers push, pull and break the conventional essay structure to overhaul the dominant cultural narrative that romanticize Native lives, yet deny Native emotional response.

Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing.

Memoir

Image of book cover

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo (Muscogee)

A memoir from the Native American poet describes her youth with an abusive stepfather, becoming a single teen mom, and how she struggled to finally find inner peace and her creative voice.

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot

Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman’s coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma.

Popular Fiction

Image of book cover

There, There by Tommy Orange (Cheyenne – Arapaho)

“We all came to the powwow for different reasons. The messy, dangling threads of our lives got pulled into a braid–tied to the back of everything we’d been doing all along to get us here. There will be death and playing dead, there will be screams and unbearable silences, forever-silences, and a kind of time-travel, at the moment the gunshots start, when we look around and see ourselves as we are, in our regalia, and something in our blood will recoil then boil hot enough to burn through time and place and memory. We’ll go back to where we came from, when we were people running from bullets at the end of that old world. The tragedy of it all will be unspeakable, that we’ve been fighting for decades to be recognized as a present-tense people, modern and relevant, only to die in the grass wearing feathers.”

Books and islands in Ojibwe country by Louise Erdrich (Ojibwe-Chippewa)

Erdrich compellingly writes about the Ojibwe spirits and songs, language, and sorrows that have passed down through generations. Erdrich later travels to Rainy Lake, to an island of real books, the world of an exuberant eccentric and close friend to the Ojibwe, who established an extraordinary library there a hundred years ago.

Genre Fiction

Image of book coverTrail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo)

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Walking the clouds: An anthology of indigenous science fiction edited by Grace L. Dillon

In this first-ever anthology of Indigenous science fiction Grace Dillon collects some of the finest examples of the craft with contributions by Native American, First Nations, Aboriginal Australian, and New Zealand Maori authors.

Poetry

Image of book coverNative voices: Indigenous American poetry, craft and conversations edited by CMarie Fuhrman and Dean Rader

In this groundbreaking anthology of Indigenous poetry and prose, Native poems, stories, and essays are informed with a knowledge of both what has been lost and what is being restored. It presents a diverse collection of stories told by Indigenous writers about themselves, their histories, and their present. It is a celebration of culture and the possibilities of language, in conversation with those poets and storytellers who have paved the way.

Whereas by Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota)

WHEREAS confronts the coercive language of the United States government in its responses, treaties, and apologies to Native American peoples and tribes, and reflects that language in its officiousness and duplicity back on its perpetrators.

Image of book coverWhen My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz

This debut collection is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister fights for or against a brother on meth, and everyone from Antigone, Houdini, Huitzilopochtli, and Jesus is invoked and invited to hash it out. These darkly humorous poems illuminate far corners of the heart, revealing teeth, tails, and more than a few dreams.

Bone Dance: New and Selected Poems, 1965-1992 by Wendy Rose

A prolific voice in Native American writing for more than twenty years, Rose has been widely anthologized, and is the author of eight volumes of poetry. Bone Dance is a major anthology of her work, comprising selections from her previous collections along with new poems. The 56 selections move from observation of the earth to a search for one’s place and identity on it. In an introduction written for this anthology, Rose comments on the place each past collection had in her development as a poet.

Nature Poem by Tommy Pico

Nature Poem follows Teebs–a young, queer, American Indian (or NDN) poet–who can’t bring himself to write a nature poem. For the reservation-born, urban-dwelling hipster, the exercise feels stereotypical, reductive, and boring. He hates nature. He prefers city lights to the night sky.

IRL by Tommy Pico

IRL is a sweaty, summertime poem composed like a long text message. It follows Teebs, a reservation-born, queer NDN weirdo, trying to figure out his impulses/desires/history in the midst of Brooklyn rooftops, privacy in the age of the Internet, street harassment, suicide, boys boys boys, literature, colonialism, religion, leaving one’s 20s, and a love/hate relationship with English.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month!

by Annah Hackett

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th through October 15th. To recognize this celebration of culture and history, we are happy to provide this list of resources.* For more information and additional resources, come visit our display on the third floor of PCL!

*Except where noted, resource descriptions are from the corresponding library catalog entry.

Fiction

Allende, Isabel. La casa de los espiritus / The House of the Spirits (1982)

Chilean writer Isabel Allende’s classic novel is both a richly symbolic family saga and the riveting story of an unnamed Latin American country’s turbulent history.

Book cover for Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits

In a triumph of magic realism, Allende constructs a spirit-ridden world and fills it with colorful and all-too-human inhabitants. The Trueba family’s passions, struggles, and secrets span three generations and a century of violent social change, culminating in a crisis that brings the proud and tyrannical patriarch and his beloved granddaughter to opposite sides of the barricades. Against a backdrop of revolution and counterrevolution, Allende brings to life a family whose private bonds of love and hatred are more complex and enduring than the political allegiances that set them at odds. The House of the Spirits not only brings another nation’s history thrillingly to life, but also makes its people’s joys and anguishes wholly our own. (book jacket)

Alvarez, Julia. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991)

Acclaimed writer Julia Alvarez’s beloved first novel gives voice to four sisters as they grow up in two cultures. The García sisters–Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofía–and their family must flee their home in the Dominican Republic after their father’s role in an attempt to overthrow brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo is discovered. They arrive in New York City in 1960 to a life far removed from their existence in the Caribbean. In the wondrous but not always welcoming U.S.A., their parents try to hold on to their old ways as the girls try find new lives: by straightening their hair and wearing American fashions, and by forgetting their Spanish. For them, it is at once liberating and excruciating to be caught between the old world and the new. Here they tell their stories about being at home–and not at home–in America.

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bendiceme, Ultima / Bless Me, Ultima (1972)

Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New Mexico. She is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic. Under her wise wing, Tony will probe the family ties that bind and rend him, and he will discover himself in the magical secrets of the pagan past–a mythic legacy as palpable as the Catholicism of Latin America. And at each life turn there is Ultima, who delivered Tony into the world…and will nurture the birth of his soul.

The winner of the 2015 National Humanities Medal, Rudolfo Anaya is acclaimed as the father of Chicano literature in English and for his rich and compassionate writing about the Mexican-American experience.

Bendis, Brian-Michael, et al. Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man. Ultimate Collection, Book 2 (2015)

Book cover for Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man. Ultimate Collection, Book 2

Miles Morales is still getting used to being Spider-Man when Captain America makes him a very special offer. Is Miles really joining the Ultimates? With awounded nation crying out for heroes, Miles Morales is determined to prove that he has what it takes! But when a terrifying new Venom symbiote surfaces, armed with the truth about the incident that gave the new Spider-Man his powers, Spidey might have just made his first true archenemy.

 

Castillo-Garsow, Melissa, ed. ¡Manteca! : An Anthology of Afro-Latin@ Poets (2017)

“We defy translation,” Sandra María Esteves writes. “Nameless/we are a whole culture/once removed.” She is half Dominican, half Puerto Rican, with indigenous and African blood, born in the Bronx. Like so many of the contributors, she is a blend of cultures, histories and languages. Containing the work of more than 40 poets–equally divided between men and women–who self-identify as Afro-Latino, ¡Manteca! is the first poetry anthology to highlight writings by Latinos of African descent. The themes covered are as diverse as the authors themselves. Many pieces rail against a system that institutionalizes poverty and racism. Others remember parents and grandparents who immigrated to the United States in search of a better life, only to learn that the American Dream is a nightmare for someone with dark skin and nappy hair. But in spite of the darkness, faith remains. Anthony Morales’ grandmother, like so many others, was “hardwired to hold on to hope.” There are love poems to family and lovers. And music–salsa, merengue, jazz–permeates this collection.Editor and scholar Melissa Castillo-Garsow writes in her introduction that “the experiences and poetic expression of Afro-Latinidad were so diverse” that she could not begin to categorize it. Some write in English, others in Spanish. They are Puerto Rican, Dominican and almost every combination conceivable, including Afro-Mexican. Containing the work of well-known writers such as Pedro Pietri, Miguel Piñero and E. Ethelbert Miller, less well-known ones are ready to be discovered in these pages.

Coelho, Paulo. O Alquimista / The Alchemist (1988)

“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.” Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.”

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho’s charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Diaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)

Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukú the curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.

Díaz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Díaz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time.

Esquivel, Laura. Como agua para chocolate / Like Water for Chocolate (1989)

Book cover for Laura Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate

This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, MamaElena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy.While still in her mother’s womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way.

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Cien anos de soledad / One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)

The brilliant, bestselling, landmark novel that tells the story of the Buendia family, and chronicles the irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love–in rich, imaginative prose that has come to define an entire genre known as “magical realism.”

Sell, Sean S., and Nicolás Huet Bautista, eds. Chiapas Maya Awakening : Contemporary Poems and Short Stories (2017)

Mexico’s indigenous people speak a number of rich and complex languages today, as they did before the arrival of the Spanish. Yet a common misperception is that Mayas have no languages of their own, only dialectos, and therefore live in silence. In reality, contemporary Mayas are anything but voiceless. Chiapas Maya Awakening, a collection of poems and short stories by indigenous authors from Chiapas, Mexico, is an inspiring testimony to their literary achievements. A unique trilingual edition, it presents the contributors’ works in the living Chiapas Mayan languages of Tsotsil and Tseltal, along with English and Spanish translations.

As Sean S. Sell, Marceal Méndez, and Inés Hernández-Ávila explain in their thoughtful introductory pieces, the indigenous authors of this volume were born between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s, a time of growing cultural awareness among the native communities of Chiapas. Although the authors received a formal education, their language of instruction was Spanish, and they had to pursue independent paths to learn to read and write in their native tongues. In the book’s first half, devoted to poetry, the writers consciously speak for their communities. Their verses evoke the quetzal, the moon, and the sea and reflect the identities of those who celebrate them. The short stories that follow address aspects of modern Maya life. In these stories, mistrust and desperation yield violence among a people whose connection to the land is powerful but still precarious.

Chiapas Maya Awakening demonstrates that Mayas are neither a vanished ancient civilization nor a remote, undeveloped people. Instead, through their memorable poems and stories, the indigenous writers of this volume claim a place of their own within the broader fields of national and global literature.

Book icon

Non-Fiction

Acuña, Rodolfo F. Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (1981)

Authored by one of the most influential and highly-regarded voices of Chicano history and ethnic studies, Occupied America is the most definitive introduction to Chicano history. This comprehensive overview of Chicano history is passionately written and extensively researched. With a concise and engaged narrative, and timelines that give students a context for pivotal events in Chicano history, Occupied America illuminates the struggles and decisions that frame Chicano identity today.

Aldama, Frederick Luis. Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics (2018)

Whether good or evil, beautiful or ugly, smart or downright silly, able-bodied or differently abled, gay or straight, male or female, young or old, Latinx superheroes in mainstream comic book stories are few and far between. It is as if finding the Latinx presence in the DC and Marvel worlds requires activation of superheroic powers.

Book cover for Frederick Luis Aldama's Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics, featuring a young Latina woman wearing the Captain America costumeLatinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics blasts open barriers with a swift kick. It explores deeply and systematically the storyworld spaces inhabited by brown superheroes in mainstream comic book storyworlds: print comic books, animation, TV, and film. It makes visible and lets loose the otherwise occluded and shackled. Leaving nothing to chance, it sheds light on how creators (authors, artists, animators, and directors) make storyworlds that feature Latinos/as, distinguishing between those that we can and should evaluate as well done and those we can and should evaluate as not well done.

The foremost expert on Latinx comics, Frederick Luis Aldama guides us through the full archive of all the Latinx superheros in comics since the 1940s. Aldama takes us where the superheroes live–the barrios, the hospitals, the school rooms, the farm fields–and he not only shows us a view to the Latinx content, sometimes deeply embedded, but also provokes critical inquiry into the way storytelling formats distill and reconstruct real Latinos/as.

Thoroughly entertaining but seriously undertaken, Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics allows us to truly see how superhero comic book storyworlds are willfully created in ways that make new our perception, thoughts, and feelings.

Allende, Isabel. Paula (1994)

One of the most popular and acclaimed of Latin American authors presents an unforgettable memoir. An exquisitely rendered, deeply moving mother-daughter story that doubles as Allende’s autobiography, Paula is a prodigious evocation and a hymn to life, written from the heart.

Chavez, Cesar. An Organizer’s Tale : Speeches (2008)

Book cover for An Organizer's Tale : Speeches by Cesar Chavez, featuring a photograph of Cesar ChavezOne of the most important civil rights leaders in American history, Cesar Chavez was a firm believer in the principles of nonviolence, and he effectively employed peaceful tactics to further his cause. Through his efforts, he helped achieve dignity, fair wages, benefits, and humane working conditions for hundreds of thousands of farm workers. This extensive collection of Chavez’s speeches and writings chronicles his progression and development as a leader, and includes previously unpublished material. From speeches to spread the word of the Delano Grape Strike to testimony before the House of Representatives about the hazards of pesticides, Chavez communicated in clear, direct language and motivated people everywhere with an unflagging commitment to his ideals.

de la Torre, Oscar. The People of the River : Nature and Identity in Black Amazonia, 1835-1945 (2018)

In this history of the black peasants of Amazonia, Oscar de la Torre focuses on the experience of African-descended people navigating the transition from slavery to freedom. He draws on social and environmental history to connect them intimately to the natural landscape and to Indigenous peoples. Relying on this world as a repository for traditions, discourses, and strategies that they retrieved especially in moments of conflict, Afro-Brazilians fought for autonomous communities and developed a vibrant ethnic identity that supported their struggles over labor, land, and citizenship.

Prior to abolition, enslaved and escaped blacks found in the tropical forest a source for tools, weapons, and trade–but it was also a cultural storehouse within which they shaped their stories and records of confrontations with slaveowners and state authorities. After abolition, the black peasants’ knowledge of local environments continued to be key to their aspirations, allowing them to maintain relationships with powerful patrons and to participate in the protest cycle that led Getulio Vargas to the presidency of Brazil in 1930. In commonly referring to themselves by such names as “sons of the river,” black Amazonians melded their agro-ecological traditions with their emergent identity as political stakeholders.

Hall, Lynda, ed. Telling Moments : Autobiographical Lesbian Short Stories (2003)

Telling Moments collects contemporary short stories by a diverse group of twenty-four lesbian writers. Engaging themes of life and death, aging, motherhood, race, love, work, and travel, the writers offer brief glimpses into lesbian lives.

The stories are by well-known contemporary writers–Gloria Anzaldúa, Mary Cappello, Emma Donoghue, Jewelle Gomez, Karla Jay, Anna Livia, Valerie Miner, Lesléa Newman, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Ruthann Robson, Sarah Schulman, and Jess Wells–and exciting newer voices, such as Donna Allegra and Marion Douglas. There are also stories from performance artists Carmelita Tropicana, Peggy Shaw, and Maya Chowdhry. Anna Livia’s protagonist appreciates her mother’s artful garden creation. Ruthann Robson tells of a survivor of the health care system. In Marion Douglas’s story a teenager dances with an alluring classmate. Donna Allegra’s strong construction worker copes with the death of her mother. And Karla Jay sets her character forth to swim with sharks. Most of the stories are accompanied by an author photo, biographical sketch, and–a most significant feature–a commentary from the author on her writing process and the autobiographical nature of her story, illustrating the truth behind the fiction

Hernández-Ávila, Inés, and Norma Elia Cantú, eds. Entre Guadalupe y Malinche : Tejanas in Literature and Art (2016)

Mexican and Mexican American women have written about Texas and their lives in the state since colonial times. Edited by fellow Tejanas Inés Hernández-Ávila and Norma Elia Cantú, Entre Guadalupe y Malinche gathers, for the first time, a representative body of work about the lives and experiences of women who identify as Tejanas in both the literary and visual arts.

The writings of more than fifty authors and the artwork of eight artists manifest the nuanced complexity of what it means to be Tejana and how this identity offers alternative perspectives to contemporary notions of Chicana identity, community, and culture. Considering Texas-Mexican women and their identity formations, subjectivities, and location on the longest border between Mexico and any of the southwestern states acknowledges the profound influence that land and history have on a people and a community, and how Tejana creative traditions have been shaped by historical, geographical, cultural, linguistic, social, and political forces. This representation of Tejana arts and letters brings together the work of rising stars along with well-known figures such as writers Gloria Anzaldúa, Emma Pérez, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Carmen Tafolla, and Pat Mora, and artists such as Carmen Lomas Garza, Kathy Vargas, Santa Barraza, and more. The collection attests to the rooted presence of the original indigenous peoples of the land now known as Tejas, as well as a strong Chicana/Mexicana feminism that has its precursors in Tejana history itself.

Morales, Iris, ed. Latinas : Struggles & Protests in 21st Century USA (2018)

Book cover for Latinas: Struggles & Protests in 21st Century USA Latinas: Struggles & Protests in 21st Century USA is a timely collection of poetry and prose reflecting on women’s lived experiences and the ways that Latinas address the relationship between gender and social change. Edited by longtime activist, Iris Morales, the authors are poets and activists, educators, artists, and journalists engaged in a variety of work from community organizing to university teaching. The selections illustrate how Latinas understand and resist the gendered conditions of their lives. They expose inequities that Latinas face as women but also by class; race, ethnicity, and national origin; immigration status; social location; and the legacy of history. The volume most closely aligns with the view of feminism as a movement to end sexist oppression, both its institutional and individual manifestations.

The anthology includes a mix of genres: poems, personal narratives, letters, scholarly essays, news articles, excerpts from plays, mission statements, lyrics, and herstories looking across time, generational, and geographic boundaries. Each piece is unique. Together they open a window that reveals a range of Latina perspectives on important contemporary socio-economic-political and cultural concerns, and imaginings for a more humane world.

“This anthology is especially urgent in a moment marked by the “silence breakers” . . . and the simultaneous silencing of women of color within these narratives. Latinas, in particular, have much to teach us as we face escalated attacks on Latinx immigrants, the U.S.-fueled crisis in Puerto Rico, and the misogyny that guides legislation against health care….” Dr. Deborah Paredez, Co-Director and Co-Founder of CantoMundo, Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the Writing Program at Columbia University, and author of This Side of Skin and Selenidad: Selena, Latinos, and the Performance of Memory.

Morrissey, Katherine G., and John-Michael H. Warner, eds. Border Spaces : Visualizing the U.S.-Mexico Frontera (2018)

The built environment along the U.S.-Mexico border has long been a hotbed of political and creative action. In this volume, the historically tense region and visually provocative margin–the southwestern United States and northern Mexico–take center stage. From the borderlands perspective, the symbolic importance and visual impact of border spaces resonate deeply.

In Border Spaces, Katherine G. Morrissey, John-Michael H. Warner, and other essayists build on the insights of border dwellers, or fronterizos, and draw on two interrelated fields–border art history and border studies. The editors engage in a conversation on the physical landscape of the border and its representations through time, art, and architecture.

The volume is divided into two linked sections–one on border histories of built environments and the second on border art histories. Each section begins with a “conversation” essay–co-authored by two leading interdisciplinary scholars in the relevant fields–that weaves together the book’s thematic questions with the ideas and essays to follow.

Border Spaces is prompted by art and grounded in an academy ready to consider the connections between art, land, and people in a binational region.

Romo, David. Ringside Seat to a Revolution : An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juárez, 1893-1923 (2005)

El Paso/Juárez served as the tinderbox of the Mexican Revolution and the tumultuous years to follow. In essays and archival photographs, David Romo tells the surreal stories at the roots of the greatest Latin American revolution: The sainted beauty queen Teresita inspires revolutionary fervor and is rumored to have blessed the first rifles of the revolutionaries; anarchists publish newspapers and hatch plots against the hated Porfirio Diaz regime; Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa eats ice cream cones and rides his Indian motorcycle happily through downtown; El Paso’s gringo mayor wears silk underwear because he is afraid of Mexican lice; John Reed contributes a never-before-published essay; young Mexican maids refuse to be deloused so they shut down the border and back down Pershing’s men in the process; vegetarian and spiritualist Francisco Madero institutes the Mexican revolutionary junta in El Paso before crossing into Juárez to his ill-fated presidency and assassination; and bands play Verdi while firing squads go about their deadly business. Romo’s work does what Mike Davis’City of Quartz did for Los Angeles–it presents a subversive and contrary vision of the sister cities during this crucial time for both countries.

Rondilla, Joanne L., Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr., and Paul Spickard, eds. Red and Yellow, Black and Brown : Decentering Whiteness in Mixed Race Studies (2017)

Book cover for Red and Yellow, Black and Brown : Decentering Whiteness in Mixed Race StudiesRed and Yellow, Black and Brown gathers together life stories and analysis by twelve contributors who express and seek to understand the often very different dynamics that exist for mixed race people who are not part white. The chapters focus on the social, psychological, and political situations of mixed race people who have links to two or more peoples of color– Chinese and Mexican, Asian and Black, Native American and African American, South Asian and Filipino, Black and Latino/a and so on. Red and Yellow, Black and Brown addresses questions surrounding the meanings and communication of racial identities in dual or multiple minority situations and the editors highlight the theoretical implications of this fresh approach to racial studies.

Vega, Marta Moreno, ed. Women Warriors of the Afro-Latina Diaspora (2012)

This collection features eleven essays and four poems in which Latina women of African descent share their stories. The authors included are from all over Latin America and they write about the African diaspora and issues such as colonialism, oppression and disenfranchisement. Diva Moreira, a black Brazilian, writes that she experienced racism and humiliation at a very young age. The worst experience, she remembers, was when her mother’s bosses told her she didn’t need to go to school after the fourth grade, “because blacks don’t need to study more than that.” The contributors professions range from artists to grass-roots activists, scholars and elected officials. Each is engaged in her community, and they all use their positions to advocate for justice, racial equality and cultural equity. A fascinating look at the legacy of more than 400 years of African enslavement in the Americas, this collection of personal stories is a must-read for anyone interested in the African diaspora and issues of inequality and racism.

Viloria, Hida. Born Both : An Intersex Life (2017)

Book cover for Born Both: An Intersex Life 

My name is Hida Viloria. I was raised as a girl but discovered at a young age that my body looked different. Having endured an often turbulent home life as a kid, there were many times when I felt scared and alone, especially given my attraction to girls. But unlike most people in the first world who are born intersex–meaning they have genitals, reproductive organs, hormones, and/or chromosomal patterns that do not fit standard definitions of male or female–I grew up in the body I was born with because my  parents did not have my sex characteristics surgically altered at birth.

It wasn’t until I was twenty-six and encountered the term intersex in a San Francisco newspaper that I finally had a name for my difference. That’s when I began to explore what it means to live in the space between genders–to be both and neither. I tried living as a feminine woman, an androgynous person, and even for a brief period of time as a man. Good friends would not recognize me, and gay men would hit on me. My gender fluidity was exciting, and in many ways freeing–but it could also be isolating.

I had to know if there were other intersex people like me, but when I finally found an intersex community to connect with I was shocked, and then deeply upset, to learn that most of the people I met had been scarred, both physically and psychologically, by infant surgeries and hormone treatments meant to “correct” their bodies. Realizing that the invisibility of intersex people in society facilitated these practices, I made it my mission to bring an end to it–and became one of the first people to voluntarily come out as intersex at a national and then international level.

Born Both is the story of my lifelong journey toward finding love and embracing my authentic identity in a world that insists on categorizing people into either/or, and of my decades-long fight for human rights and equality for intersex people everywhere.

Image of Tajana Poets Exhibit flyer

Women of the Texas Mexican Earth

Curated by Julia Coppedge, student in the School of Information and Graduate Research Assistant at the Benson Latin American Collection Library

The UT Poetry Center at the PCL has a new exhibit up for the fall semester! This exhibit, entitled “Women of the Texas Mexican Earth” features the works of Tejana poets and is meant to honor the great literary contributions of these Texas-Mexican mujeres. In the context of this exhibit, “Tejana” refers to a woman of Mexican descent who was either born and raised in Texas, or was born elsewhere and eventually came to know Texas (even for a little while) as her home.

Poets like Carmen Tafolla, Sonia Saldívar-Hull, Celeste Guzman Mendoza, and Ariana Brown were born and raised in San Antonio, while poets Liliana Valenzuela, Sandra Cisneros, and Angela De Hoyos are “adopted” Tejanas, and have lived in both the U.S. and Mexico. As Tejana scholars, Inés Hernández-Ávila and Norma Elia Cantú proposed “the reach of Tejas,” or Tejana cultural work, extends far beyond the South region of Texas, into Austin, San Antonio, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and to “wherever there are Tejanas.”

The title of this exhibition comes from Inés Hernández-Ávila’s introductory essay to Entre Guadalupe y Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art, an anthology that was instrumental to this project’s conceptualization.

Exhibit Details
Women of the Texas Mexican Earth
On View through December 9
UFCU Room (PCL 2.500), Perry-Castañeda Library
Poster artwork by Isabel Ann Castro, @queenoftacostx

Image of Toni Morrison with quote

Remembering Toni Morrison

In memory and celebration of the life of Toni Morrison, we’d like to highlight her words and works.

Resource list compiled by Sarah Brandt

Archives

  • Toni Morrison Papers (mostly 1970-2015) 1908-2017 – Princeton University. Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
    • “Toni Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, 1931) is a Nobel prize-winning American author, editor, and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. The material described in this finding aid consists of manuscripts, drafts, galleys, and proofs of Morrison’s novels and other writings; personal correspondence; editorial files relating to Morrison’s work at Random House and later publication of two posthumous works by Toni Cade Bambara; academic and teaching files, particularly pertaining to SUNY Albany and Princeton University; working files; press clippings; published books, photographs, audiovisual materials, and awards and memorabilia.”

Words

Works

Browse the UT Libraries’ catalog for more by Toni Morrison

News

Visit the physical display on the New Books shelf by the entryway of PCL.

Image of Queering the South promotional material

Queering the South: Highlighting the unique history of LGBTQIA+ rights locally and across the south

In honor of Austin’s annual celebration of Pride in August, this post and the accompanying display on the 3rd floor of PCL highlights LGBTQIA+ history in Austin and across the southern United States. These display materials serve to provide context for this event and share historical experiences and information about the LGBTQIA+ community focusing as much as possible on intersectional marginalized identities.

This display was developed by iSchool Pride, a student group out of UT’s School of Information, in collaboration with UT Libraries staff, and this post was compiled by Ask A Librarian Intern Karen Scott.

By Karen Scott

Happy Austin Pride! This month’s display is a collection of materials inside and outside of the UT Library system curated by graduate research assistants, subject librarians, and iSchool Pride co-leaders. We began collecting materials around the idea of highlighting Austin’s historical Pride materials, since Austin celebrates Pride in August. However, we found few materials that were this specific. We expanded our search to include materials written by and about LGBTQIA+ persons, issues and interests across the Southern United States. In addition to both physical and electronic resources from UT Libraries, we have included links to archives, AV materials, and LibGuides for further research and exploration. Visit the display on the 3rd floor for even more!

Physical Materials

  1. LGBTQ : a resource guide for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning students by the Queer Students Alliance
    • Guide written in 2008 by students at the University of Texas at Austin to help other students find resources and assistance while at UT
  2. From closet to crusade : the struggle for lesbian-gay civil rights in Austin, Texas, 1970-1982 by Eric Jason Ganther
    • Master’s thesis for the University of Texas at Austin published in 1990
  3. Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South by E. Patrick Johnson [eBook]
    • E. Patrick Johnson challenges stereotypes of the South as “backward” or “repressive” and offers a window into the ways black gay men negotiate their identities, build community, maintain friendship networks, and find sexual and life partners–often in spaces and activities that appear to be antigay.”
  4. My mama’s dead squirrel: Lesbian essays on Southern Culture by Mab Segrest
    • “A down-home insider’s look at the South she lives in, struggles with and loves.”
  5. Rebels, rubyfruit, and rhinestones: queering space in the Stonewall South by James T. Sears
    • “In this chatty, free-ranging cultural survey, Sears (Growing Up Gay in the South) presents a vivid kaleidoscope of the mores and political activities of many gay Southerners following the 1969 Stonewall riots and leading up to the 1979 march on Washington.”
  6. Below the Belt: Sexuality, Religion, and the American South by Angelia R. Wilson
    • “This study of the American rural South addresses the psychological effect of religious fervour, right-wing Republicanism, internalized self-hatred and the intervention of urban gay/feminist politics on gay/feminist life, identities and communities in the Southern States.”
  7. G.R.I.T.S – girls raised in the South : an anthology of southern queer womyn’s voices and their allies by Poet On Watch; Amber N. Williams
    • “G.R.I.T.S. is a critical self-analysis and celebration from the perspectives of womyn who live in the Southern region of the United States and/or have a strong affinity for this locale. The theme of the publication surrounds the subject matter of erotica while enjoying food, our connection to the South, the bonds created between lovers, and in sisterhood, personal growth, be it spiritual or otherwise and our best G.R.I.T.S recipes.”
  8. Prison Wolves: a Depiction of Gay Life in Prison by Paul F. Archuleta
    • “Paul’s first prison visit takes him to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where one of the worst prison riots took place. The Hispanic gangs and the Aryan Brotherhood led the majority of these prisons. Paul had to figure out how to stay clean from trouble, how to keep sexual predators at bay, and how to keep his mouth shut.”
  9. The queer limit of Black memory: Black lesbian literature and irresolution by Matt Richardson [eBook]
    • “A new archive of Black women’s literature that has heretofore been on the margins of literary scholarship and African diaspora cultural criticism. It argues that Black lesbian texts celebrate both the strategies of resistance used by queer Black subjects and the spaces for grieving the loss of queer Black subjects that dominant histories of the African diasporas often forget.”
  10. Queer Brown Voices: Personal Narratives of Latina/o LGBT Activism by Uriel Quesada, Letitia Gomez, and Salvador Vidal-Ortiz [eBook]
    • “Comprising essays and oral history interviews that present the experiences of fourteen activists across the United States and in Puerto Rico, the book offers a new perspective on the history of LGBT mobilization and activism.”
  11. With her Machete in her Hand: Reading Chicana Lesbians by Catriona Rueda Esquibel
    • “A history of Chicana lesbian writing from the 1970s until today, this book explores a wide range of plays, novels, and short stories by Chicana/o authors that depict lesbian characters or lesbian desire.”
  12. Becoming Two-Spirit: Gay Identity and Social Acceptance in Indian Country by Brian Joseph Gilly [eBook]
    • “Drawing on a wealth of observations from interviews, oral histories, and meetings and ceremonies, Brian Joseph Gilley provides an intimate view of how Two-Spirit men in Colorado and Oklahoma struggle to redefine themselves and their communities. The Two-Spirit men who appear in Gilley’s book speak frankly of homophobia within their communities, a persistent prejudice that is largely misunderstood or misrepresented by outsiders.”
  13. Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature by Qwo-Li Driskill, Chris Finley, Brian Joseph Gilley, Scott Lauria Morgensen
    • “Rooted in the Indigenous Americas and the Pacific, and drawing on disciplines ranging from literature to anthropology, contributors to Queer Indigenous Studies call Indigenous GLBTQ2 movements and allies to center an analysis that critiques the relationship between colonialism and heteropatriarchy.”
  14. A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G & J.R. Zuckerberg
    • “Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, and navigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experience through informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys”
  15. A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson
    • “A quick, easy and important educational comic guide to using gender-neutral pronouns.”
  16. Q & A: Queer in Asian America by David L. Eng; Alice Y. Hom
    • “Q & A approaches matters of identity from a variety of points of view and academic disciplines in order to explore the multiple crossings of race and ethnicity with sexuality and gender. Drawing together the work of visual artists, fiction writers, community organizers, scholars, and participants in roundtable discussions, the collection gathers an array of voices and experiences that represent the emerging communities of a queer Asian America.”
  17. Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison
    • “Two or Three Things I Know for Sure tells the story of the Gibson women — sisters, cousins, daughters, and aunts — and the men who loved them, often abused them, and, nonetheless, shared their destinies. With luminous clarity, Allison explores how desire surprises and what power feels like to a young girl as she confronts abuse.”
  18. Partly Colored: Asian Americans and the Racial Anomaly in the Segregated South by Leslie Bow [eBook]
    • “Spanning the pre- to the post- segregation eras, Partly Colored traces the compelling history of “third race” individuals in the U.S. South, and in the process forces us to contend with the multiracial panorama that constitutes American culture and history.”
  19. Another Country: Queer Anti-Urbanism by Scott Herring [eBook]
    • “Herring leads his readers from faeries in the rural Midwest to photographs of white supremacists in the deep South, from Roland Barthes’s obsession with Parisian fashion to a graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel set in the Appalachian Mountains, and from cubist paintings in Lancaster County to lesbian separatist communes on the northern California coast.”
  20. Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi and Trans Men who Came Out Later in Life by Vinnie Kinsella
    • “What happens when adult men come out? What triumphs and struggles do they experience? The stories in this collection explore the impact of exposing long-held secrets.”
  21. Nepantla: An Anthology for Queer Poets of Color by Christopher Soto
    • “The first major literary anthology for queer poets of color in the United States. In 2014, Christopher Soto and Lambda Literary Foundation founded the online journal Nepantla, with the mission to nurture, celebrate, and preserve diversity within the queer poetry community, including contributions as diverse in style and form, as the experiences of QPOC in the United States.”
  22. Unheard Voices: the Effects of Silence on Lesbian and Gay Educators by Ronni L. Sanlo
    • “In this qualitative research project, sixteen lesbian and gay teachers in the Northeast Florida public school system were interviewed about their experiences in their professional settings and how those experiences affected their lives.”
  23. Voices in the Dark by Sharon Bridgforth
    • “The Voices in the Dark was originally a concept (named by Alva Nelms) for a multi-media/multi-cultural celebration, that was produced April 11, 1991 in Austin, Texas. Sonnata blue was presented as a one wo’mn/one-act produced by Word of Mouth, Women’s Theatre Company in Austin, Texas”–Page [1].
  24. In Jewish Texas: A Family Memoir by Stanley E. Ely [eBook]
    • “Stanley Ely says that when the fiftieth or so person confronted him with a skeptical, ‘You mean you’re Jewish, and you’re from Texas?’ he decided to do more than smile and say, ‘Yes.’ The result is this funny, caustic, and nostalgic tale in the tradition of popular regionally and ethnically focused memoirs. Though the book is not a typical “coming out” story, the reader also learns of Ely’s gradual and at times reluctant acceptance of himself as a gay man.”

Electronic Resources

  1. A brief and improper geography of queerspaces and sexpublics in Austin, Texas by Shaka McGlotten 
    • “This article offers ethnographic and autoethnographic vignettes from the author’s research on cultures of public sex in Austin, Texas. It also tracks some of the ways their own racialization as a black queer man shaped the research project.”
  2. Men in Place: Trans Masculinity, Race, and Sexuality in America by Miriam J. Abelson [eBook]
    • American masculinity is being critiqued, questioned, and reinterpreted for a new era. In Men in Place Miriam J. Abelson makes an original contribution to this conversation through in-depth interviews with trans men in the U.S. West, Southeast, and Midwest, showing how the places and spaces men inhabit are fundamental to their experiences of race, sexuality, and gender.
  3. Couples : a photographic documentary of gay and lesbian relationships by John Gettings [eBook]
    • “Photos & commentary portray diversity & commitment in same sex unions.”
  4. Forgetting the Alamo, or, Bloody Memory by Emma Perez [eBook]
    • “This literary adventure takes place in nineteenth-century Texas and follows the story of a Tejana lesbian cowgirl after the fall of the Alamo. Micaela Campos, the central character, witnesses the violence against Mexicans, African Americans, and indigenous peoples after the infamous battles of the Alamo and of San Jacinto, both in 1836. “
  5. Performing the US Latina & Latino Borderlands by Arturo J. Aldama, Chela Sandoval, & Peter Garcia [eBook]
    • “In this interdisciplinary volume, contributors analyze the expression of Latina/o cultural identity through performance. With music, theater, dance, visual arts, body art, spoken word, performance activism, fashion, and street theater as points of entry, contributors discuss cultural practices and the fashioning of identity in Latino/a communities throughout the US.”
  6. Toxic Silence : Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence Against Black Transgender Women in Houston by William T. Hoston [eBook]
    • “Toxic Silence: Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence against Black Transgender Women in Houston contributes to a growing body of transgender scholarship. This book examines the patriarchal and heteronormative frames within the black community and larger American society that advances the toxic masculinity which violently castigates and threatens the collective embodiment of black transgender women in the USA.”
  7. Out in the South by Carlos L Dews; Carolyn Leste Law
    • “In this book gays and lesbians from the Deep South to East Texas and Appalachia speak from vivid personal experience and turn an analytical eye on the South and its culture.”
  8. Intersections of disability, gender, and sexuality in higher education : exploring students’ social identities and campus experiences by Ryan Andrew Miller
    • “This study begins to address a need for empirical research on the social identities and higher education experiences of this population.”
  9. Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray by Rosalind Rosenburg [eBook]
    • “Throughout her prodigious life, activist and lawyer Pauli Murray systematically fought against all arbitrary distinctions in society, channeling her outrage at the discrimination she faced to make America a more democratic country. In this definitive biography, Rosalind Rosenberg offers a poignant portrait of a figure who played pivotal roles in both the modern civil rights and women’s movements.
  10. Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality and Rise of Florida Tourism by Jerry T. Watkins [eBook]
    • Jerry Watkins reveals both the challenges these men and women faced in the years following World War II and the essential role they played in making the Emerald Coast a major tourist destination. In a state dedicated to selling an image of itself as a “family-friendly” tropical paradise and in an era of increasing moral panic and repression, queer people were forced to negotiate their identities and their places in society.
  11. Welcome to Fairyland: Queer Miami before 1940 by Julio Capo Jr. [eBook]
    • As Julio Capo Jr. shows in this fascinating history, Miami’s transnational connections reveal that the city has been a queer borderland for over a century. In chronicling Miami’s queer past from its 1896 founding through 1940, Capo shows the multifaceted ways gender and sexual renegades made the city their own.
  12. Black. Queer. Southern. Women. : an oral history by E. Patrick Johnson [eBook]
    • Drawn from the life narratives of more than seventy African American queer women who were born, raised, and continue to reside in the American South, this book powerfully reveals the way these women experience and express racial, sexual, gender, and class identities–all linked by a place where such identities have generally placed them on the margins of society.

Archives

  1. Waterloo Counseling Center records, 1982-1997 located in the Briscoe Center for American History 
    • “Waterloo Counseling Center is a non-profit organization specializing in supplying mental health services to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities of Austin, TX. Established in 1983, the Waterloo Counseling Center began as one room facility that grew into a much larger center. The Center’s work also expanded into helping those afflicted with HIV and AIDS as well as their family members.
  2. Allgo pasa! : newsletter of the Austin Latino/a Lesbian & Gay Organization located in the Benson Latin American Collection
    • “allgo celebrates and nurtures vibrant queer people of color communities here in Texas and beyond through cultural arts, wellness, and social justice programming. They support artists and artistic expression; promote health and wellness; and mobilize our community to make change. They work deeply and intentionally with our partners and allies to challenge marginalization and oppression in all their forms, and to build a just and equitable society.”
  3. National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization (LLEGÓ) Records, 1987-2004 located in the Benson Latin American Collection
    • “The National Latino/a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization (LLEGÓ), was a nonprofit organization committed to organizing Latino/a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities through mobilization and networking.”
  4. Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas records, 1981-1991 located in the Briscoe Center for American History
    • “The Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas was founded in 1982 as the Lesbian/Gay Rights Advocates, which itself was formed from a meeting of members of the Lesbian/Gay Democrats of Texas and the Texas Gay Task Force. Since 2005 the LGRL has been known as Equality Texas. Equality Texas is a statewide political group dedicated to fighting for the cause of equality in Texas.”
  5. The Texas triangle : the lesbian and gay news weekly of Austin located in the Briscoe Center for American History
    • Weekly newspaper covering LGBT news and culture published in Austin, Texas.
  6. Texas Lesbian Conference located in the Briscoe Center for American History
    • “Correspondence, classified files, lists, artifacts, financial records, notebooks, newspaper clippings and photographs documenting and assembled by the Texas Lesbian Conference relating to annual conferences 1988 to 1992, organizational activities including fund raising, and gay and lesbian issues and rights.”
  7. A Guide to the Glen Maxey Papers, 1991-2003 located in the Briscoe Center for American History
    • “Composed of correspondence and personnel, office, and legislative files, the Glen Maxey Papers, 1991-2003, chronicle Maxey’s career and activities as a politician. Personnel case files relate to his relationship with his constituents and their concerns, while office files pertain to a number of political, medical, and social issues that he was researching, such as higher education, LGBTQ communities and rights, environmental regulations and legislation, HIV research and medical programs, and affirmative action, among others.”

Zines

  1. Holding My Own: Art & Poetry by LGBTQ Prisoners in Texas by Austin Anarchist Black Cross
    • “A zine composed for and by LGBTQ prisoners currently incarcerated in the Texas prison system. This project is a response to the anticipated Trans Prisoner Day of action, which calls for a greater effort to raise awareness around prisoner’s struggles, to connect people inside and outside of prisons, and to promote non-criminalized identities and personal expression.”
  2. Feminist Action Project Zines in the UT Libraries’ collection
  3. GSC list of Zines by UT Student Organizations
    • A collection of zine titles put together by UT Austin’s Gender and Sexuality Center.

Join the conversation by contributing to a Zine! Stop by the display and decorate one of the half-sheets provided following one of the prompts below. iSchool Pride will choose pages from these submissions to incorporate into a collective zine. This project aims to fill in information gaps in LGBTQIA+ experiences on campus. The pages will be collected into a zine and distributed by iSchool Pride in September.

Prompts:

  • Write or draw about your experience with Austin Pride or LGBTQA+ organizations/events.
  • What type of support do you want to see around UT Austin?
  • What is pride?

Pride Month with the Black Queer Studies Collection

Happy Pride Month! Throughout June we are highlighting some of the incredible intersectional works included in the Black Queer Studies Collection.

Visit the book displays on the 3rd floor of PCL and in the Poetry Center in the UFCU room to find materials from the collection below. Many thanks to Sarah Brandt, Ginny Barnes, Gina Bastone, Elle Covington, and Linna Dean for getting this month’s display together!

Materials on Display

  1. Big Freedia: God save the queen diva! by Big Freedia
    • “From the eponymous star of the most popular reality show in Fuse TVs history, this no-holds-barred memoir tells the story of a gay, self-proclaimed mama’s boy who exploded onto the formerly underground Bounce music scene–a hip-hop subgenre–and found acceptance, healing, self-expression, and stardom”–Amazon.com.
  2. Black Bull, Ancestors and Me: My Life as a Lesbian Sangoma by Nkunzi Zandile Nkabinde [eBook]
    • “Describing the dichotomy of being both revered and reviled, this memoir traces the story of a sangoma, a traditional healer, who is also a lesbian. Descriptions of traditional African healing practices and rituals are provided alongside the personalized account of one woman acting as a mirror to the daily hardships and indignities felt by members of the gay community in Africa.”
  3. Black girl dangerous: On race, queerness, class and gender by Mia McKenzie
    • Essays reprinted from the website Black girl dangerous
  4. Black on both sides: A racial history of trans identity by C. Riley Snorton [eBook]
    • “The story of Christine Jorgensen, Americas first prominent transsexual, famously narrated trans embodiment in the postwar era.”
  5. Black. Queer. Southern. Women. by E. Patrick Johnson [eBook]
    • “Drawn from the life narratives of more than seventy African American queer women who were born, raised, and continue to reside in the American South, this book powerfully reveals the way these women experience and express racial, sexual, gender, and class identities–all linked by a place where such identities have generally placed them on the margins of society.”
  6. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
    • “Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. Something has happened there…. The population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. And into this disaster zone comes a young man–poet, lover, and adventurer–known only as the Kid.”
  7. Ezili’s mirrors: Imagining Black queer genders by Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley
    • “From the dagger mistress Ezili Je Wouj and the gender-bending mermaid Lasiren to the beautiful femme queen Ezili Freda, the Ezili pantheon of Vodoun spirits represents the divine forces of love, sexuality, prosperity, pleasure, maternity, creativity, and fertility.”
  8. Funk the erotic: Transaesthetics and black sexual cultures by L.H. Stallings
    • “Funk. It is multisensory and multidimensional philosophy used in conjunction with the erotic, eroticism, and black erotica. It is the affect that shapes film, performance, sound, food, technology, drugs, energy, time, and the seeds of revolutionary ideas for black movements.”
  9. Here comes the sun: A novel by Nicole Dennis-Benn
    • “In this radiant, highly anticipated debut, a cast of unforgettable women battle for independence while a maelstrom of change threatens their Jamaican village. Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas.”
  10. Hunger: A memoir of (my) body by Roxane Gay
    • “Gay has written … about food and bodies, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as ‘wildly undisciplined,’ Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care.” — Amazon.com.
  11. I am your sister: Collected and unpublished writings of Audre Lorde [eBook]
    • “Audre Lorde was not only a famous black poet; she was also one of the most important radical black feminists of the past half century. I Am Your Sister collects her non-fiction prose from 1976 to 1990, and it is the first volume to provide a full picture of Lorde’s political work (as opposed to her aesthetic work).”
  12. June Jordan: Her life and letters by Valerie Kinloch
    • “June Jordan was born on July 9, 1936, in Harlem, New York, to Mildred and Granville Jordan, Jamaican natives. During her life, she became one of the most prolific, important, and influential African American writers of her time.”
  13. Live through this: Surviving the intersections of sexuality, God, and race by Clay Cane
    • “This powerful book couldn’t come at a more timely juncture. With our deep misunderstanding of racial identity, the murder of transgender women increasing at an alarming rate and the battle of faith and sexual orientation at churches across the country, we are in a cultural war of ideologies. Overwhelming prejudices have constricted our basic capacity for compassion and understanding. Live Through This is a collection of intimate essays about one man’s journey to self-acceptance when his faith, sexuality, and race battled with societal norms. These insightful writings will plant seeds of consideration and inspire readers to stretch beyond stereotypes. By reading stories about the demographics that live on the fringe of traditions, we gain a deeper awareness of our cultural climate and how we can improve it, starting with ourselves.”–Amazon.com.
  14. Lives of great men: Living and loving as an African gay man by Chike Frankie Edozien
    • “From Victoria Island, Lagos to Brooklyn, U.S.A. to Accra, Ghana to Paris, France; from across the Diaspora to the heart of the African continent, in this memoir Nigerian journalist Chike Frankie Edozien offers a highly personal series of contemporary snapshots of same gender loving Africans, unsung Great Men living their lives, triumphing and finding joy in the face of great adversity.”
  15. Nick Cave: Meet me at the center of the Earth by Nick Cave
    • Published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, Mar. 28-July 5, 2009 and the Fowler Museum at UCLA, North Los Angeles, Jan. 10-June 1, 2010.
  16. No tea, no shade: New writings in Black queer studies by E. Patrick Johnson [eBook]
    • “No Tea, No Shade brings together nineteen essays from the next generation of black queer studies scholars, activists, and community leaders who build on the foundational work of black queer studies, pushing the field in new and exciting directions.”
  17. Nova by Samuel R. Delany
    • “Given that the suns of Draco stretch almost sixteen light years from end to end, it stands to reason that the cost of transportation is the most important factor of the 32nd century. And since Illyrion is the element most needed for space travel, Lorq von Ray is plenty willing to fly through the core of a recently imploded sun in order to obtain seven tons of it.”
  18. Phallos by Samule R. Delany
    • “Taking the form of a gay pornographic novella, with the explicit sex omitted, Phallos is set during the reign of the second-century Roman emperor Hadrian, and circles around the historical account of the murder of the emperor’s favorite, Antinous.”
  19. Queer and trans artists of color: Stories of some of our lives interviews by Nia King
    • “A collection of sixteen unique and honest conversations you won’t read anywhere else.”
  20. Sister outsider: Essays and speeches by Audre Lorde [eBook]
    • “The fourteen essays and speeches collected in this work, several of them published for the first time, span almost a decade of this Black lesbian feminist’s work. Lorde is unflinching in her observations and is lucid and clarifying in her coverage of a range of essential topics.”
  21. Surpassing certainty: What my twenties taught me by Janet Mock
    • “As you witness Janet’s slow-won success and painful failures, Surpassing Certainty will embolden you, shift the way you see others, and affirm your journey in search of self”–Provided by publisher.
  22. Tailor-made by Yolanda Wallace
    • “Before Grace Henderson began working as a tailor in her father’s bespoke suit shop in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn, she established a hard and fast rule about not dating clients. The edict is an easy one for her to follow, considering the overwhelming majority of the shop’s clients are men. But when Dakota Lane contacts her to commission a suit to wear to her sister’s wedding, Grace finds herself tempted to throw all the rules out the window.”
  23. Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany
    • “In his four-volume series Return to Nevèrÿon, Hugo and Nebula award-winner Samuel R. Delany appropriated the conceits of sword-and-sorcery fantasy to explore his characteristic themes of language, power, gender, and the nature of civilization”
  24. The color purple by Alice Walker
    • “Set in the period between the world wars, this novel tells of two sisters, their trials, and their survival.”
  25.  The journals of Samuel R. Delany. Volume 1, In search of silence : 1957-1969
    • “In Search of Silence presents over a decade’s worth of Delany’s private journals, commencing in 1957 when he was still a student at the Bronx High School of Science, and ending in 1969 when he was living in San Francisco and on the verge of reconceiving the novel that would become Dhalgren.”
  26. The mad man by Samuel R. Delany
    • “A philosophy students becomes interested in a dead philosopher who was a pervert. In time he begins imitating the man and in the process reaches the depths of perversion.”
  27. The queer Caribbean speaks: Interviews with writers, artists, and activists by Kofi Omoniyi Sylvanus Campbell
    • “In most Caribbean countries homosexuality is still illegal, and many outside of the region are unaware of how difficult life can be for gay men and lesbians. This book is born out of the near-silence surrounding the lives of queer Caribbean citizens and collects interviews with writers, artists, and activists to challenge the dominance of Euro-American models in understanding global queerness. These interviews give voices to those who live and work on the front lines of the battle for the recognition of LGBQT rights in the region, with the hope that their voices will bring wider awareness of, and shed light on, the issues faced by LGBQT Caribbean citizens”–Back cover
  28. The wind is spirit: The life, love and legacy of Audre Lorde by Gloria I. Joseph
    • “Across the country and around the world, the bold and powerful Audre Lorde has been a touchstone for generations of writers and activists. And while she has been the subject of many books, there is more of her story to tell. The Wind is Spirit: The Life, Love and Legacy of Audre Lorde offers an entirely different and intimate perspective. Written by Dr. Gloria I. Joseph, Audre Lorde’s partner in love and life during her final years, the book invites readers to share her experiences using deeply revealing storytelling and call-and-response narration.”– Provided by publisher.
  29. Voices rising: Celebrating 20 years of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender writing edited by G. Winston James
    • “Voices Rising is a collection of literary works by gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people of African descent.”
  30. Warrior poet: A biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux
    • “Alexis De Veaux demystifies Lorde’s iconic status, charting her childhood; her marriage to a white, gay man with whom she had two children; her emergence as an outspoken black feminist lesbian poet; and her canonization as a seminal poet of American literature.”
  31. We are never meeting in real life by Samantha Irby
    • “With heartfelt candor and her usual side-splitting bite, humorist, essayist, and blogger at bitchesgottaeat.com Samantha Irby captures powerful emotional truths while chronicling the disaster that has been her life. An ill-fated pilgrimage and romantic vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father’s ashes, awkward sexual encounters, a Bachelorette application gone awry, and more– sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is a dumpster fire.”
  32. What color is your hoodie?: Essays on black gay identity by Jarrett Neal
    • “In thirteen candid and provocative essays, author Jarrett Neal reports on the status of black gay men in the new millennium, examining classism among black gay men, racism within the gay community, representations of the black male body within gay pornography, and patriarchal threats to the survival of both black men and gay men. What Color Is Your Hoodie? employs the author’s own quest for visibility–through bodybuilding, creative writing, and teaching, among other pursuits–as the genesis for an insightful and critical dialogue that ultimately symbolizes the entire black gay community’s struggle for recognition and survival”–Back cover.
  33. Workin’ it!: RuPaul’s guide to life, liberty, and the pursuit of style by RuPaul
    • “The popular drag queen and host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” provides provocative tips on fashion, beauty, style and confidence for women and men, gay and straight.”
  34. Zami: A new spelling of my name by Audre Lorde
    • “The poet, Audre Lorde, depicts her life and examines the influence of various women on her development.”

Poetry

  1. Gospel: Poems by Samiya Bashir [eBook]
    • “Gospel is an ecumenical resistance song in four parts.”
  2. Jimmy’s blues and other poems by James Baldwin
    • “All of the published poetry of James Baldwin, including six significant poems previously only available in a limited edition.”
    • Online Access [eBook]

Comic Books

  1. Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
    • “When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-’60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.”–Amazon.com
  2. Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxane Gay
    • The world building of Wakanda continues in a love story where tenderness is matched only by brutality! You know them now as the Midnight Angels, but in this story they are just Ayo and Aneka, young women recruited to become Dora Milaje, an elite task force trained to protect the crown of Wakanda at all costs.

Youth Collection

  1. Julián is a mermaid by Jessica Love
    • “While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?”
  2. Let’s talk about love by Claire Kann
    • “In this young adult novel, Alice, afraid of explaining her asexuality, has given up on finding love until love finds her.”
  3. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
    • “Suzette returns home to Los Angeles from boarding school and grapples with her bisexual identity when she and her brother Lionel fall in love with the same girl, pushing Lionel’s bipolar disorder to spin out of control and forcing Suzette to confront her own demons”– Provided by publisher.
  4. Princess Princess ever after by Katie O’Neill
    • “When the heroic princess Amira rescues the kind-hearted princess Sadie from her tower prison, neither expects to find a true friend in the bargain. Yet as they adventure across the kingdom, they discover that they bring out the very best in the other person. They’ll need to join forces and use all the know-how, kindness, and bravery they have in order to defeat their greatest foe yet: a jealous sorceress with a dire grudge against Sadie. Join Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, on their journey to figure out what happily ever after really means and how they can find it with each other”–Back cover.

Video

  1. Major! produced & directed by Annalise Ophelian [Online Access]
    • “MAJOR! is a documentary film exploring the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a formerly incarcerated Black transgender elder and activist who has been fighting for the rights of trans women of color for over 40 years.” — film website
  2. Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins [Online Access]
    • “A young black man struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.”
  3. Paris is burning produced and directed by Jennie Livingston
    • The “unblinking behind-the-scenes story of the fashion-obsessed New Yorkers who created ‘voguing’ and drag balls, and turned these raucous celebrations into a powerful expression of fierce personal pride” — Container.
  4. Pay it no mind: Marsha P. Johnson a documentary by Michael Kasino
    • Marsha P. Johnson was a revolutionary trans activist, Stonewall instigator, Andy Warhol model, drag queen, prostitute, and Saint, as well as a downtown New York City fixture. From the 1960s through her too-soon demise in 1992, Johnson persevered through a life embodied by her middle initial P, which stood for “Pay It No Mind.”

Already read or seen any of the above? Give us your critiques in the comments below!

Women’s History Month: Reclaiming Herstory Across Disciplines

March is Women’s History Month. Throughout March we are highlighting the lives, work, thought, and legacy of femme-identified folks throughout history and across disciplines.

Women’s History Month is an annual, nation-wide recognition of the contributions of women dating back to 1987, and Public Law 100-9 passed by Congress. Since 1988, each president has subsequently passed an annual Presidential Proclamation designating March as Women’s History Month. You can read this year’s proclamation here.

Visit the book display on the 3rd floor of PCL to check out any of the available print books from the collection below.

Books on Display

Women’s History and Feminist Thought

Memoirs

Poetry

Fine Arts

Latina Studies

Asian Studies

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies

Social Work

Psychology & Sociology

Kinesiology & Health Education

Education

Children’s Books

Science

Architecture and Engineering

Legal

Videos

Have other recommendations? Share in the comments!

Trans Lives & Public Policy

On Tuesday, January 22, the Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration’s ban on trans individuals serving in the military. To put these current events in context, we are highlighting materials from library collections about trans experiences, especially those of trans military service members, and legal and public policy.

Visit our display on the 3rd floor of PCL to check out print books from our collection related to this topic.

Below is a list of items on that display as well as a few additional e-resources and books that can be found at Tarlton Law Library.

News

Statements from Professional Organizations

Resources for Trans Individuals

Background Information

Books on Display

Young Adult Books

Children’s Books

Ebooks

Journal

Articles

Books at Tarlton Law Library