1991 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence
The Concrete River is a collection of poems by poet laureate of Los Angeles Luis Rodriguez. They illuminate the gritty idiosyncrasies of immigrant life in urban barrios spanning Los Angeles to Chicago to Harlem. Rodriguez lends powerful voices to those struggling to keep the gas on, to find work, and to keep love. Populated by a vibrant cast of characters, ranging from the drugged, to the eccentric, to the heartbroken, Rodriguez's poems protest capitalism, violence, and exploitation while reveling in the...

Set in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago, this children's picture book gives a heartwarming message of hope. The heroine, America, is a primary school student who is unhappy in school until a poet visits the class and inspires the students to express themselves creatively-in Spanish or English. America Is Her Name emphasizes the power of individual creativity in overcoming a difficult environment and establishing self-worth and identity through the young girl America's desire and determination to be a writer. This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat...

Una nina de nueve anos, America Soliz, vive con su familia en el Barrio Pilsen de Chicago. Echa de menos su hogar en Mexico y se siente descontenta en la escuela, donde experimenta el prejuicio contra los inmigrantes mexicanos. America se siente en la fila de atras del salon de clase y se la pasa sonando con su aldea en Oaxaca hasta que un dia un poeta, el Sr. Aponte, visita la clase. "Todos llevamos le poesia por dentro," le dice el Sr. Aponte a la clasee inspira a America a escribir. "Escriban en espanol o en ingles," exhortael. America escribe cuentos y poemas, aun cuando su padre dice que...

TROCHEMOCHE means helter-skelter in Spanish, and this book expresses the turmoil of the barrio and the various themes that drive Luis J. Rodriguez's poetry. Drawing on more than ten years of poems, Rodriguez writes powerfully and passionately about urban youth, family, and the plight of neglected communities, while exploring the rich cultural roots of his Chicano ancestry.