Julia Alvarez made her mark on the American literary horizon with the 1991 publication of her debut novel "How the Garc DEGREESD'ia Girls Lost Their Accents," a story based on her own family's bicultural experiences. Readers and critics alike quickly discovered the writer's penchant for extracting humor from hardship, and weaving personal history into vivid prose. Within a decade, Alvarez had published three more highly acclaimed novels, including " Yo " (1997), a delightful sequel to her first novel. This Critical Companion introduces readers to the life and works of Dominican American...

In 1972 Rudolfo Anaya made a quiet entry into American literature with the publication of Bless Me, Ultima. Over the span of twenty-two years, by word of mouth alone, this first novel sold more than 300,000 copies. It was the first Chicano novel to enter the American literary canon, and it helped identify Abaya as one of the founders of Chicano literature.

In this collection of interviews Anaya talks about his life and about how New Mexico, his home state, influences his work. The interviews explore also the importance that myths and spiritual matters play in his writings. He...