Fifty-two essays exploring identity, literature, immigration, and politics by the American Book Award winner, one of the godfathers of Chicano literature.
Best known for his novel Bless Me, Ultima, which established him as one of the founders of Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya displays his gift for storytelling and deep connection to the land and its history in The Essays. These intimate and contemplative essays explore censorship, immigration, urban development, the Southwest as a region, and personal identity.
In "Aztlan: A Homeland Without Boundaries," he discusses the reimagining of the modern Chicano community through ancient myth and legend; in "The Spirit of Place," he explores the historical connection between literature and the earth. Some essays are autobiographical, some argumentative; all are passionate-and a must-read for Anaya fans and readers who crave a view of contemporary America through fresh eyes.

Rudolfo Anaya was professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. He received numerous literary awards, including the Premio Quinto Sol and a National Medal of Arts. He is the author of the classic work Bless Me, Ultima, which was chosen for the National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read. Anaya's other books for adults include Tortuga, Heart of Aztlan, Alburquerque, Rio Grande Fall, Shaman Winter, Jemez Spring, Serafina's Stories, The Man Who Could Fly and Other Stories, and Rudolfo Anaya: The Essays. His children's books include Farolitos of Christmas, My Land Sings, Elegy on the Death of César Chávez, Roadrunner's Dance, and The First Tortilla. Bless Me, Ultima was adapted into a feature film in 2013.

• Foreword
• Part I. Living Chicano
  • I'm the King: The Macho Image
  • Requiem for a Lowrider
  • On the Education of Hispanic Children
  • Foreword to Growing Up Chicano
  • The Journal of a Chicano in China
  • Freedom to Publish-Unless You're a Chicano
  • Letter to Chicano Youth
  • Shaman of Words
• Part II. Censorship
  • Take the Tortillas out of Your Poetry
  • The Censorship of Neglect
  • The Courage of Expression
  • Stand Up Against Censorship Anywhere It Occurs
• Part III. The Southwest: Landscape and Sense of Place
  • Mythical Dimensions/Political Reality
  • A New Mexico Christmas
  • The New World Man
  • Bendíceme, América
  • Martineztown Builds Wall of Memories
  • Aztlán: A Homeland without Boundaries
  • Sale of Atrisco Land Grant Means Loss of History, Tradition
  • The Writer's Sense of Place
  • The Pueblo on the Mesa Revisited
  • The Writer's Landscape: Epiphany in Landscape
  • The Spirit of the Petroglyphs
  • The Spirit of Place
  • Why I Love Tourists: Confessions of a Dharma Bum
• Part IV. Culture and Art of the Southwest
  • Tribute to Paul Taylor
  • Deep Roots: Or, We Have Been Here a Long Time
  • The Magic of Words
  • At a Crossroads
  • La Llorona, El Kookoóee, and Sexuality
  • Luis Jiménez: View from La Frontera
  • A Celebration of Grandfathers
  • Introduction to A Ceremony of Brotherhood
  • Cuentos de los Antepasados: Spanning the Generations
  • Curanderas/Women Warriors
  • Model Cities/Model Chicano/Norma Jean
  • A Second Opinion
• Part V. Literature of the Southwest
  • The Writer as Inocente
  • My Heart, My Home
  • Writing Burque
  • Más Allá
  • The Genius of Patrociño Barela
  • The Silence of the Llano: Notes from the Author
  • Introduction to Mi Abuela Fumaba Puros
  • Introduction to Voces
  • Death in the Novel
  • Return to the Mountains
• Part VI. Modern Ethnic Literature and Culture
  • What Good Is Literature in Our Time?
  • An American Chicano in King Arthur's Court
  • The Light-Green Perspective
  • "Still Invisible, Lord, Still Invisible"
  • Reading, Mostly Novels
• A Biography of Rudolfo Anaya