Blood Lines: Myth, Indigenism and Chicana o Literature (Chicana Matters)

Runner-up, Modern Language Association Prize In United States Latina And Latino And Chicana And Chicano Literary And Cultural Studies, 2009 Blood Lines: Myth, Indigenism, And Chicana/o Literature Examines A Broad Array Of Texts That Have Contributed To The Formation Of An Indigenous Strand Of Chicano Cultural Politics. In Particular, This Book Exposes The Ethnographic And Poetic Discourses That Shaped The Aesthetics And Stylistics Of Chicano Nationalism And Chicana Feminism. Contreras Offers Original Perspectives On Writers Ranging From Alurista And Gloria Anzald�a To Lorna Dee Cervantes And Alma Luz Villanueva, Effectively Marking The Invocation Of A Chicano Indigeneity Whose Foundations And Formulations Can Be Linked To U.s. And British Modernist Writing. By Highlighting Intertextualities Such As Those Between Anzald�a And D. H. Lawrence, Contreras Critiques The Resilience Of Primitivism In The Mexican Borderlands. She Questions Established Cultural Perspectives On The Native, Which Paradoxically Challenge And Reaffirm Racialized Representations Of Indians In The Americas. In Doing So, Blood Lines Brings A New Understanding To The Contradictory And Richly Textured Literary Relationship That Links The Projects Of European Modernism And Anglo-american Authors, On The One Hand, And The Imaginary Of The Post-revolutionary Mexican State And Chicano/a Writers, On The Other Hand. 2009 — Runner-up, Modern Language Association Prize in United States Latina and Latino and Chicana and Chicano Literary and Cultural Studies Blood Lines: Myth, Indigenism, and Chicana/o Literature examines a broad array of texts that have contributed to the formation of an indigenous strand of Chicano cultural politics. In particular, this book exposes the ethnographic and poetic discourses that shaped the aesthetics and stylistics of Chicano nationalism and Chicana feminism. Contreras offers original perspectives on writers ranging from Alurista and Gloria Anzaldúa to Lorna Dee Cervantes and Alma Luz Villanueva, effectively marking the invocation of a Chicano indigeneity whose foundations and formulations can be linked to U.S. and British modernist writing. By highlighting intertextualities such as those between Anzaldúa and D. H. Lawrence, Contreras critiques the resilience of primitivism in the Mexican borderlands. She questions established cultural perspectives on "the native," which paradoxically challenge and reaffirm racialized representations of Indians in the Americas. In doing so, Blood Lines brings a new understanding to the contradictory and richly textured literary relationship that links the projects of European modernism and Anglo-American authors, on the one hand, and the imaginary of the post-revolutionary Mexican state and Chicano/a writers, on the other hand. Introduction: Myths, Indigenisms, And Conquests -- Mexican Myth And Modern Primitivism: D.h. Lawrence's The Plumed Serpent -- The Mesoamerican In The Mexican-american Imagination: Chicano Movement Indigenism -- From La Malinche To Coatlicue: Chicana Indigenist Feminism And Mythic Native Women -- The Contra-mythic In Chicana Literature: Refashioning Indigeneity In Acosta, Cervantes, Gaspar De Alba, And Villanueva. Sheila Marie Contreras. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [187]-202) And Index. Placing texts of Chicana/o indigenism and nationalism alongside European and Euro-American ethnographic, travel, and journalistic writing, this is the first comprehensive, comparative literary study of its kind.