Elements

This first collection of short stories by Mexican American Stephen Gutierrez introduces a new and candid perspective on working-class life in the barrios of East Los Angeles. Startling, humorous at times, brutally honest, Elements includes eight stories and two essays followed by a personal afterword that turns an unflinching gaze to the bitter fruit (and dust) of the struggling writer and the writing business itself. Gutierrez's book won a 1997 Nilon Award for minority fiction.