Interviews/Entrevistas

Among the most daring and influential of feminist theorists, Gloria E. Anzaldúa has long valued the interview process, considering it an intermediate form of writing--"part of communicating, which is part of writing, which is part of life"--as well as a means of self-discovery. As a result, she has granted at least a hundred interviews over the past 20 years, 10 of which, the earliest dating from 1982, are collected here by AnaLouise Keating. Lightly edited to avoid repetition, these interviews shed light on Anzaldúa's theories of convergence and the mestizaje, her spiritual views, the role of hallucinogenic drugs in her creativity, her literary influences, and the genesis of her various books, especially her best-known works, This Bridge Called My Back and Borderlands/La Frontera. In fact, since Anzaldúa's writings are so intensely personal, readers new to her may find that starting with the interviews makes as much sense as starting with her books. Although most of these pieces have been previously published, it is wonderful to have them in a single volume, and even better that Keating has gone back to the original tapes or transcripts in order to restore excised material--which almost always, incidentally, deals with Anzaldúa's rich and complicated spiritual life. Interviews/Entrevistas offers welcome insight into a remarkable writer's mind. --Regina Marler