"Compelling and enlightening" (Booklist), The Latino Reader covers nearly five centuries of an important American literary tradition in this groundbreaking anthology featuring a wide range of Latino voices.

"Makes evident that works in Spanish have always been with us, helping to define and move American culture forward."—Nicolás Kanellos, founder and director of Arte Público Press

With a broad and intriguing range of Latino voices and perspectives, from Cabeza de Vaca's mid-sixteenth-century writings to contemporary works from Cristina García and Sandra Cisneros, Harold Augenbraum and Margarite Fernández Olmos have collected history, memoirs, letters, essays, fiction, poetry, and drama into this essential anthology.

Featuring work by writers not usually associated with the Latino tradition, notably poems by William Carlos Williams and fiction by John Rechy, The Latino Reader serves to highlight the substantial contribution this culture has made to American literature.