KUHF-Arte Público Press Author of the Month: Stephanie Fetta
 February 8, 2010 by: Eric Ladau Editor Stephanie Fetta has been selected as this month's KUHF/Arte Público Press Author of the Month. In the next installment of a series of monthly features, KUHF's Eric Ladau spoke with Ms. Fetta. listen now: Stephanie Fetta is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Irvine. She has taught in the Chicano Studies, Women's Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese departments at UC-Irvine and studied at Bryn Mawr College, Stanford, and Cornell. She is the translator of a book-length study by Spanish Anthropologist Francisco Checa entitled "Spain and Its Immigrants: Images and Stereotypes of Social Exclusion" and has published several articles in the United States and abroad. She lives in Southern California. A unique assortment of literature by U.S. Hispanic authors written from 1974 to 1999 is richly represented in The Chicano / Latino Literary Prize: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Fiction, Poetry and Drama (Arte Público Press, 2008), a new landmark collection edited by Stephanie Fetta. During the twenty-five year period covered in the anthology, several of the most enduring Latino literary voices—from Juan Felipe Herrera, Josefina López, and Michael Nava to Luis J. Rodríguez, Benjamín Alire Sáenz, and Helena María Viramontes—were recognized by this highly competitive prize. As such, many of the anthology's featured pieces are considered to be foundational texts of Chicana/o and Latina/o literature. Editor Fetta compiles the diverse array of authors' works; and the different styles and genres included in this collection cover a wide range of themes, from more political issues of ethnicity, gender, and class conflicts to the universal themes of love, death, and birth. Presented in chronological order, the selected writings are primarily in English, although some are written in Spanish, and others in Spanglish. Some, like Francisco X. Alarcón's poem "Raíces / Roots," appear in both languages: "Mis raíces / las cargo / siempre / conmigo / enrolladas / me sirven / de almohada." "I carry / my roots / with me / all the time / rolled up / I use them / as my pillow." The literary prize competition is now entering its thirty-first year, and most, but not all, of the winning entries are featured in this anthology, which also includes second- and third-place winners, as well as honorable mentions. Arte Público Press is the nation's largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Público Press, Piñata Books and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Hispanic literary arts and creativity. For more information, please visit www.artepublicopress.com. In the next installment of a series of monthly features, KUHF's Eric Ladau spoke with Ms. Fetta about her works. > view printer-friendly version listen to audio: > in your media player download audio: > podcast > iTunes > direct subscribe to audio category: > latest podcast > iTunes > return to previous page |