Born in the Río Grande Valley of south Texas, independent scholar and creative writer Gloria Anzaldúa was an internationally acclaimed cultural theorist. As the author of Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Anzaldúa played a major role in shaping contemporary Chicano/a and lesbian/queer theories and identities. As an editor of three anthologies, including the groundbreaking This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, she played an equally vital role in developing an inclusionary, multicultural feminist movement. A versatile author, Anzaldúa published poetry, theoretical essays, short stories, autobiographical narratives, interviews, and children's books. Her work, which has been included in more than 100 anthologies to date, has helped to transform academic fields including American, Chicano/a, composition, ethnic, literary, and women's studies.
This reader-which provides a representative sample of the poetry, prose, fiction, and experimental autobiographical writing that Anzaldúa produced during her thirty-year career-demonstrates the breadth and philosophical depth of her work. While the reader contains much of Anzaldúa's published writing (including several pieces now out of print), more than half the material has never before been published. This newly available work offers fresh insights into crucial aspects of Anzaldúa's life and career, including her upbringing, education, teaching experiences, writing practice and aesthetics, lifelong health struggles, and interest in visual art, as well as her theories of disability, multiculturalism, pedagogy, and spiritual activism. The pieces are arranged chronologically; each one is preceded by a brief introduction. The collection includes a glossary of Anzaldúa's key terms and concepts, a timeline of her life, primary and secondary bibliographies, and a detailed index.

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Reading Gloria Anzaldúa, Reading Ourselves . . . Complex Intimacies, Intricate Connections 1
Part One. "Early" Writings
TIHUEQUE 19
To Delia, Who Failed on Principles 20
Reincarnation 21
The Occupant 22
I Want To Be Shocked Shitless 23
The New Speakers 24
Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to Third World Women Writers 26
The coming of el mundo surdo 36
La Prieta 38
El paisano is a bird of good omen 51
Dream of the Double-Faced Woman 70
Foreword to the Second Edition (of This Bridge Called My Back) 72
Sexuality, Spirituality, and the Body: An Interview with Linda Smuckler 74
Part Two. "Middle" Writings
Enemy of the State 97
Del Otro Lado 99
Encountering the Medusa 101
Creativity and Switching in Modes of Consciousness 103
En Rapport, In Opposition: Cobrando cuentas a las nuestras 111
The Presence 119
Metaphors in the Tradition of the Shaman 121
Haciendo caras, una entrada 124
Bridge, Drawbridge, Sandbar, or Island: Lesbians-of-Color Hacienda Alianzas 140
Ghost Trap/Trampa de espanto 157
To(o) Queer the Writer-Loca, escritora y chicana 163
Border Arte: Nepantla, El Lugar de la Frontera 176
On the Process of Writing Borderlands / La Frontera 187
La vulva is una herida abierta / The vulva is an open wound 198
The New Mestiza Nation: A Multicultural Movement 203
Part Three. Gallery of Images 217
Part Four. "Later" Writings
Foreword to Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol, and Spirit 229
How to 232
Memoir-My Calling; or, Notes for "How Prieta Came to Write" 235
When I write I hover 238
Transforming American Studies: 2001 Bode-Pearson Prize Acceptance Speech 239
Yemayá 242
(Un)natural bridges, (Un)safe spaces 243
Healing wounds 249
Reading LP 250
A Short Q&A between LP and Her Author (GEA) 274
Like a spider in her web 276
Bearing Witness: Their Eyes Anticipate the Healing 277
The Postmodern Llorona 280
Speaking across the Divide 282
Llorona Coyolxauhqui 295
Disability & Identity: An E-mail Exchange & a Few Additional Thoughts 298
Let us be the healing of the wound: The Coyolxauhqui imperative-la sombra y el sueño 303
Appendix 1: Glossary 319
Appendix 2: Timeline: Some Highlights from Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa's Life 325
Bibliography 337
Index 351