The latest addition to the successful literary citieis series by Texas Christian University Press, "Literary El Paso "brings attention to the often overlooked extraordinary literary heritage of this city in far West Texas. El Paso is the largest metropolitan area along the U.S.-Mexico border and is geographically isolated from the rest of Texas. It is in this splendid isolation surrounded by mountains in the midst of the beautiful Chihuahuan Desert that many award-winning writers found their literary voices. "Literary El Paso "features bilingual selections to reflect the bi-cultural...

In "Grace & Gumption: The Women of El Paso," thirteen contributors trace the history of El Paso from the distaff side. The women who settled El Paso faced an unusual reality. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo changed the border, and people who were previously citizens of Mexico--living in their native country, speaking their native language--were suddenly citizens of the United States, forced to speak a foreign language. Editor Marcia Hatfield Daudistel gathers together authoritative voices who examine the bicultural identity of this city through the various roles the women assumed:...