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Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Touchstone ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0743276914 |
Book Description
By age twelve, Luis Rodriguez was a veteran of East L.A. gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests, then watched with increasing fear as drugs, murder, suicide, and senseless acts of street crime claimed friends and family members.Before long, Rodriguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation. Achieving success as an award-winning Chicano poet, he was sure the streets would haunt him no more -- until his son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in Always Running, a vivid memoir that explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants. At times heartbreakingly sad and brutal, Always Running is ultimately an uplifting true story, filled with hope, insight, and a hard-learned lesson for the next generation.
Customer Reviews:
Almost too realistic, yet a must read. .......2007-03-20
The Definitive Account of Barrio Life........2007-02-19
best book ever.......2007-02-09
Poorly written.......2006-12-13
Always Running.......2006-12-07
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The Republic of East LA: Stories
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Harper Perennial ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 006093686X Release Date: 2003-03-04 |
Amazon.com
Luis J. Rodriguez's The Republic of East L.A. showcases the lives of drifters, gangbangers, the homeless, and other hard-luck residents. The characters in these stories often commit crimes or suffer hardships without taking responsibility for their actions, or the author leaves the consequences unexplored (after a murder at the end of one story, the characters simply drive off). What we are left with are people to whom at the outset we sense bad things will happen, and they usually do. There are touching stories in here, however, where people endure the blight of urban poverty, making the most of it and/or escaping through fantasies of a better life. Rodriguez sums up East L.A. in "Boom, Bot, Boom":There are hundreds of midnight images: black-uniformed officers with taped nightsticks, scrawled bus stops, spasms of gunfire, crowded jail cells, whirling helicopter blades, sidewalk Romeos and red-toed Juliets.... But for Raul and Stick, there was only this--a sad, silly, and sometimes deadening symmetry called suburbia. And they thrived on it.
Rodriguez covers fertile ground, but does so in a rather bland and predictable manner. Perhaps the author is right that the people of East L.A. simply endure what comes their way, but without giving us more engagement between the subjects and their action, The Republic of East L.A. seems inhabited less by people than by characters. --Michael Ferch
Book Description
From the award-winning author of Always Running comes a brilliant collection of short stories about life in East Los Angeles. Whether hilariously capturing the voice of a philosophizing limo driver whose dream is to make the most of his rap-metal garage band in "My Ride, My Revolution," or the monologue-styled rant of a tes-ti-fy-ing! tent revivalist named Ysela in "Oiga," Rodriguez squeezes humor from the lives of people who are not ready to sacrifice their dreams due to circumstance.
In these stories, Luis J. Rodriguez gives eloquent voice to the neighborhood where he spent many years as a resident, a father, an organizer, and, finally, a writer: a neighborhood that offers more to the world than its appearance allows.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-01-26
Outstanding book.......2004-03-18
I must admit that I hadn't heard of Luis J. Rodriguez before I read the books. What first attracted me to the book was the pretty girl on the cover. While the stories were compelling to me as a Chicano, I think the true beauty of the author's work is a truth that transcends racial and socio-economic background and most importantly, age.
Highly recommended.
Our Republic.......2003-07-20
"Rosalba had not looked that happy in a long time as she danced along the bustling streets of the central city in her loose-fitting skirt and sandals. She danced in the shadow of a multi-storied Victorian -- dancing for one contemptuous husband and for another who was dead. She danced for a daughter who didn't love herself enough to truly have the love of another man. She danced for her grandchildren, especially that fireball Chila. She danced for her people, wherever they were scattered, and for this country she would never quite comprehend. She danced, her hair matted with sweat, while remembering a simpler life on an even simpler rancho in Nayarit."
This is a powerful, beautiful collection.
NOTE: This review refers to the paperback edition.
Our Republic.......2003-04-05
"Rosalba had not looked that happy in a long time as she danced along the bustling streets of the central city in her loose-fitting skirt and sandals. She danced in the shadow of a multi-storied Victorian -- dancing for one contemptuous husband and for another who was dead. She danced for a daughter who didn't love herself enough to truly have the love of another man. She danced for her grandchildren, especially that fireball Chila. She danced for her people, wherever they were scattered, and for this country she would never quite comprehend. She danced, her hair matted with sweat, while remembering a simpler life on an even simpler rancho in Nayarit."
This is a powerful, beautiful collection.
A Ride Through East L.A........2002-09-11
That these stories have a rough edge, that they are not always perfectly told, is not important because they are poignantly told. Mostly they cross the barrio barrier for all to enjoy. Occasionally they don't. If you are interested in culture, speak Spanish or are familiar with Hispanic/American way of life, you will have no trouble. If you aren't, you will still find some of these stories worth a bit of a struggle. Especially "Pigeons." This tale about new Mexican immigrant prejudices against second generation Mexicans and vice versa is worth the entire ride through "East L.A."
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"
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A History of Literature in the Caribbean: English and Dutch-Speaking Regions (Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages)
Manufacturer: John Benjamins Publishing Co ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 1588110419 |
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East Side Stories: Gang Life in East LA
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: powerHouse Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1576870723 |
Amazon.com
We've heard about drive-by shootings and territorial battles in the news. "East Side Stories" brings the code, the lives, the words, and the hope of actual gang members to light in this stunning collection of essays, photographs, and an interview of ex-gang member Luis Rodriguez, now the author of five books and the recipient of several major awards. The labyrinthine rules and codes of gang life are examined and explained, while intimate photographs of "gang bangers" in their homes and with their families put a human face on what is, for many of us, just another story in the afternoon newspaper.Luis Rodriguez explains in his interview that the demonization and false glorification of gang life has done much disservice to the termination of gang activity, activity which he defines as "90% boredom." What's the key to reduction of gang violence and improvement of inner-city lives, to the dissolution of prisons as a right of passage? Part of the solution lies in providing better education by informed and supportive teachers who are able to tap into the overlooked creativity in inner-city communities. And a great part lies in nationally understanding and supporting communities bound by poverty, and encouraging people to work together to help people work for themselves.
Customer Reviews:
a good book but i wish it had more...........2007-09-06
Too many pictures.......2005-10-08
GREAT BOOK!!!!.......2002-09-30
Finally the truth.......2001-12-05
The Same Neighborhood.......2000-01-03
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Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Seven Stories Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1583225641 |
Book Description
A longtime peacemaker with gangs in Los Angeles and Chicago, Luis J. Rodriguez prescribes healing through community building. He warns against further marginalization of people already on the edge of society, and points the way to nonviolent opportunities for youth.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2002-08-13
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Trochemoche: Poems by Luis Rodriguez
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Curbstone Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1880684500 |
Amazon.com
Trochemoche (TROH-chay MOH-chay) means helterskelter in Spanish, and this book is dedicated to the helterskelter of the barrio--both its chaotic good and bad.Many of the poems are narrative, relying upon the metaphor of the poem's event rather than densely figurative language. In "Freeway Flyin' Burrito Man," the Mexican speaker of the poem is confronted by a biker buddy of his white girlfriend, who tries to scare the speaker with a motorcycle adaptation of the game "Chicken." The speaker gets the girl; the biker hits the road, after some significant glaring.
Rodriguez seems to use narrative with great control. Perhaps too much control. His most passionate words come not from the cool, sharp-eyed stories but from the often surprising images that he creates, images that build and rebuild the life of the barrio. In "Reflection on an El Train Glass," the speaker becomes mesmerized as "a vise of sun grips a shape, / an innuendo of myself" and the past reveals its hazy multiple layers. In the stirring poem "Securo Que Hell Yes!" the poet explains the effects of racism and oppression as a nightmare that has occurred so frequently that "it's a song / beneath our breathing," yet it won't stop the dream of returning to the America that his people helped to build. The imagery provides a bridge for understanding the harsh events of the barrio.
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REVIEW QUOTES.......2001-08-06
"In fusing childhood experience of working life, love and family with current labors and lusts, ...these peoms make clear their voracity." --Publishers Weekly
"Chicano poet Luis J. Rodríguez is a writer to watch...and read." --MultiCultural Review
"Each of his tender poems is an unabashed machine of transcendence, a hunk of primary meat to feed the primary poetic hungers." --Richard Silberg, Poetry Flash
The Warrior-Poet.......2000-05-15
noche de trochemoche.......2000-04-14
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My Nature Is Hunger: New & Selected Poems, 1989 2004
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Curbstone Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1931896240 |
Book Description
"This poetry is of the barrio yet stubbornly refuses to be confined in it-Rodriguez's perceptive gaze and storyteller's gift transport his world across neighborhood boundaries."-Publishers Weekly on Trochemoche
"While filled with the heart and words of Chicano culture, Rodriguez's poems transcend the scope of race and ethnicity. The topics he addresses in this book-relationships, justice, love, and the irony of daily life-are, or should be, the subjects that envelop us all. It is this universality, cloaked in the specific encounters of his life that make his writing as gripping to readers living in inner-city America as to those living in small-town USA."-Sojourners on Trochemoche
My Nature is Hunger is the first poetry collection in five years by this major award-winning Latino author. It includes selections from his previous books, Poems Across the Pavement, The Concrete River, and Trochemoche, and 26 new poems that reflect his increasingly global view, his hard-won spirituality, and his movement toward reconciliation with his family and his past.
Though Rodriguez is the most authentic voice of the barrio, many reviewers have commented on the universality of his work.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Luis J. Rodriguez grew up in Watts and East Los Angeles. He began writing in his early teens and eventually won national recognition as a poet, journalist, fiction writer, children's book writer, and critic. He is currently working as a peacemaker among gangs on a national and international level. After spending 15 years in Chicago, Rodriguez returned with his family to Los Angeles, where he helped create Tia Chucha's Cafe & Centro Cultural, a multi-arts, multimedia cultural center in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
Customer Reviews:
A must read!.......2006-07-26
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It Doesn't Have to Be This Way/No tiene que ser asi: A Barrio Story/Una historia del barrio
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Children's Book Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0892392037 |
Book Description
Customer Reviews:
Must have for any teacher.......2000-06-05
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Poems across the Pavement
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Tia Chucha ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0962428701 |
Book Description
Winner of the 1989 Poetry Center Book AwardCustomer Reviews:
powerful and poignant poetry.......2000-06-23
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America Is Her Name
Luis J. Rodriguez Manufacturer: Curbstone Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1880684403 |
Book Description
Set in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago, this children's picture book gives a heartwarming message of hope. The heroine, America, is a primary school student who is unhappy in school until a poet visits the class and inspires the students to express themselves creatively-in Spanish or English. America Is Her Name emphasizes the power of individual creativity in overcoming a difficult environment and establishing self-worth and identity through the young girl America's desire and determination to be a writer. This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vazquez's inspired four-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strength of the young girl America.Customer Reviews:
América is Her Name.......2005-06-21
adults will enjoy it more than children.......2003-03-02
MORE REVIEW QUOTES.......2001-08-06
"This heartening book will touch readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds and belongs in every school and public library." --Frances Ann Day, MultiCultural Review
"This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vesquez's inspired 4-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strenght of the young girl América." --Hispanic Outlook
"This is a story for librarians, teachers and parents as well as for children ages 6 and up because it helps us understand the newcomer's search for a place of belonging. Touching and true." --Feminist Bookstore News
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