Friday Five: contemporary Hispanic authors you should read

You can be forgiven for not knowing we are in the midst of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Even I, a pocho but still proud of my Hispanic heritage (or Latino/a/x, if you prefer), often find myself taken by surprise when this annual event shows up on the calendar — probably because it’s a “month” that really isn’t. It starts in the middle of September and ends in the middle of October, an oddity that probably contributes to its lack of visibility.

Hispanic authors, too, often lack visibility in the mainstream of literature. Now that we’re almost a week into National Hispanic Heritage Month, I want to devote this Friday Five to Hispanic writers. Although many exceptional U.S. writers have Hispanic roots, they’re often overshadowed in the literary world.

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‘American Fiction’ and what stories get told

Who gets to decide which novels are made accessible to the broader public?

Among the Academy Award nominees for best picture that got trampled by the Oppenheimer juggernaut was “American Fiction,” a movie about writers, writing and the publishing business. The movie has a lot to say about the state of publishing and its gatekeeping function. Who gets to decide which novels are made accessible to the broader public? By extension, the movie’s message also applies to other art forms, and to the business of marketing and promoting books, films, music, and other works of art.

“American Fiction” trailer
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