Synopses & Reviews
Poetry. Fiction. Latino/Latina Studies. Spanish language edition of SILENT DANCING: A PARTIAL REMEMBRANCE OF A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD, translated by Elena Olazagasti-Segovia. "The original English version of this book was well received, and Olazagasti-Segovia's Spanish translation will most certainly be popular not only among Puerto Ricans but also with other immigrant groups who know the apparent dichotomy of living in two different and opposing cultures. Chapters trace the author's changes from childhood to adolescence in a life divided between long stays in her mother's native Puerto Rico with her colorful extended family and long, lonely winters in New Jersey while her absent father serves in the U.S. Navy. Each phase poses different challenges, but the author as a young girl manages to meet the demands of womanhood and family without losing her own identity. Latinas, specially young adults who have gone through similar experiences, will identify with the author, for her lovely book is a mirror where each of us may see our own reflection, although slightly altered by personal experience. This very enriching work is recommended for public libraries, especially those with young adult collections"--Carmen J. Palmieri, Library Journal.
Synopsis
The long awaited Spanish translation of Judith Ortiz Cofer's award-winning collection of prose writing, Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood.
These personal essays recall her childhood spent shuttling between the warm island of her birth and New Jersey, where her father moved the family after being stationed at Brooklyn Yard in New York City. Praise for the English-language edition:
About the Author
Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, in 1952. She was raised on the island and in Paterson, New Jersey, before her family finally settled in Augusta, Georgia. She received her B.A. in English from Augusta College in 1974, and her M.A. in English from Florida Atlantic University, and did graduate work at Oxford University in 1977. Her collections of poetry include: THE YEAR OF OUR REVOLUTION: New and Selected Stories and Poems (1998), winner of the Paterson Book Prize given by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College; The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry (1993), winner of the Anisfield Wolf Book Award; Terms of Survival (1989), REACHING FOR THE MAINLAND and SELECTED NEW POEMS (1987), and Latin Women Pray (1980). Cofer is also the author of essays, fiction, and prose, and her work has been published in numerous anthologies. Her young adult book An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (1996) has received several distinctions, including The American Library Association Reforma Pura Belpre Medal and the Fanfare Best Book of the Year award. Cofer's awards and honors include grants from the Georgia Council for the Arts and the Witter Bynner Foundation, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts for poetry, the University of Georgia Humanities Center, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Florida Fine Arts Council, and the Janet Rice Memorial Fellowship from Florida Atlantic University. She is currently the Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, and an associate staff member of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.