Letters

-- Críticas, 6/1/2001

ENGLISH BOOKS, TOO?

I definitely think Críticas should include reviews of books by Latinos written in English. For so long Latinos in this country were forbidden to speak Spanish in school and made to feel ashamed of being bilingual. Consequently, a generation of la gente have lost their ability to read easily in Spanish, and they should be able to have access to authors and books that reflect their culture in English. It is very hard to find these books reviewed, especially if published by a small press or even an academic press. It is important for people to hear the stories of Latinos who were born in the United States or who have lived here a long time. I feel that by reviewing books in both English and Spanish you would be serving all Latinos as well as instilling pride in our culture and literature.
--Irma Flores-Manges, Austin P.L., Oak Hill Branch, Austin, TX

Dear Ms. Flores-Manges,
We agree that there is not enough coverage of Latinos who write in English. It is important that those few mainstream venues that do review such books continue their coverage. Hopefully, the increased emphasis on the community in general through Críticas and the widespread media reaction to the census will help bring much-deserved attention to these writers. Though it is intriguing to consider covering all aspects of Latino culture, and it is entirely possible that much will find its way into Críticas's pages, our current focus is on the Spanish-language publishing world.
--The Editors

MORE HEALTH REVIEWS

I was so pleased to see the inclusion of Críticas with my last Library Journal. Since we pulled our Spanish-language collection out of Literature and gave it its own display area our circulation of those titles has skyrocketed. Please continue to feature these reviews.

Maybe a collection development article could feature a specific aspect of Spanish-language books: career, education, health, etiquette, sign language, idioms, etc. Thank you!
--Julie Hill, Head of Reference, St. Joseph County P.L., South Bend, IN

Dear Ms. Hill,
Congratulations on the success of your new display. It goes to show how a slight improvement can enhance a section's popularity. We are well aware of the need to feature collection development and will begin with children's books in the next issue.
--Ed.

I'm very excited about the launch of Críticas! I've been longing for some time for an English-language review of Spanish-language titles--I have been continually frustrated in my attempts to find health and medical titles in Spanish, much less reviews of them! (Not to mention that my high school Spanish does not allow me to read them critically enough in Spanish.)

I would very much like to see a special issue or section on health and medical books and videos; I manage a consumer health library and our non-English-speaking patients have long been underserved. I hope that Críticas will help me fill these gaps.
--Eric Weaver, Redwood Health Lib., Petaluma, CA

Dear Mr. Weaver,
We are currently looking for such materials worthy of review. Keep reading.
--Ed.

VIDEO, PLEASE

At our library we are very excited about Críticas. Could you try to include information about Spanish-language videos from time to time? We are looking for high-quality instructional videos and classic novels dramatized, such as Don Quixote.
--Carole C. Deily

Dear Ms. Deily,
We are currently sourcing the vendors for those materials and are excited about the potential of covering them in the future.
--Ed.

Críticas welcomes letters to the editor; please note that they may be edited for clarity and length. Send letters to:

Editors, Críticas
245 W. 17th St., 6th Fl.
New York, NY 10011

Or email them to adlopez@cahners.com