Camino Del Sol

A notable literary series celebrates its Quinceañera with a diverse selection from more than 30 authors. Founded in 1994 by poet González, who also served as the first series editor, "Camino Del Sol" has become perhaps the premier publishing venue for Chicano and Latino writers in the United States. The anthology is divided into poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, though the nonfiction section is half the size of the other two and consists primarily of memoir. The collection achieves good geographical and gender balance but often returns to the American Southwest, the border, and the dominant themes of migration and working-class consciousness. To paraphrase Luis Alberto Urrea, the best-known author represented here, the book has a barbed-wire fence neatly bisecting its heart. Other highlights include the poetry of Maria Melendez and Virgil Suárez, the fiction of Stella Pope Duarte and Sergio Troncoso, and the nonfiction of Kathleen J. Alcala.