Empire
The University of Arizona Press · Paperback · January 20, 2011
Using both lyrical and narrative forms, these concise verses explore a family history set against the larger backdrop of Mexican history, immigration, and landscapes of the Southwest.
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- Who it’s for
- Lyrical and narrative poems place family history alongside Mexican history, immigration, and Southwest landscapes.
- Themes
- Family history, Migration, Personal and political history
- Genres
- Hispanic American Poetry, Women Poets, Political & Protest Poetry
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For younger readers: Living Beyond Borders, Under the Mesquite, Frida Kahlo's Flower Crown
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Using both lyrical and narrative forms, these concise verses explore a family history set against the larger backdrop of Mexican history, immigration, and landscapes of the Southwest. The poet’s delicate touch lends these poems an organic quality that allows her to address both the personal and the political with equal grace. Straightforward without being simplistic or reductive, these poems manage to be intimate without seeming self-important.
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This distinctive collection ranges from the frighteningly whimsical image of Cortés dancing gleefully around a cannon to the haunting and poignant discovery of a dead refugee boy seemingly buried within the poet herself. The blending of styles works to blur the lines between subjects, creating a textured narrative full of both imagination and nuance. Ultimately, Empire situates individual experience in the wider social context, highlighting the power of poetry as song, performance, testimony, and witness. Addressing themes such as war, family, poverty, gender, race, and migration, Candelaria gives us a dialogue between historical and personal narratives, as well as discreet “conversations” between content and form.
Family and History
Lyrical and narrative poems place family history alongside Mexican history, immigration, and Southwest landscapes.
Come here for
- Lyrical and narrative verses on family history, Mexican history, and immigration.
- Poems that address war, poverty, gender, race, and migration.
Expect
- Personal and political narratives in dialogue.
- Poetry framed as song, performance, testimony, and witness.
Where it sits
| Hispanic American Poetry | 95% |
|---|---|
| Political & Protest Poetry | 39% |
| Women Poets | 34% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Hispanic American Poetry
- Authors
- Xochiquetzal Candelaria
- Publisher
- The University of Arizona Press
- Published
- January 20, 2011
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Family history · Migration · Personal and political history
- Reading lane
- Hispanic American Poetry