First published 2004
Dagoberto Gilb began his career swinging hammers on high-rise construction sites, barely scraping by as a journeyman carpenter. Now he commands respect as a vital voice in American literature. This collection gathers his essays and radio commentaries from NPR's Fresh Air, revealing how an artist bridges two worlds that rarely intersect. Gilb writes about cockfighting and discusses Cormac McCarthy with equal authority. He examines what it means to be Mexican-American in a literary establishment that often overlooks border voices. From his Texas borderland home, he observes both the insular world of writers and the broader American landscape. These pieces show a man working to define his place as both artist and citizen, refusing to abandon either his working-class roots or his literary ambitions.
Genres: essays, american-fiction, american, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-divide, identity
Setting: Texas, America
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Paperback · Grove Press