University Press of Florida
Impossible Returns: Narratives of the Cuban Diaspora
Key Metrics
- Iraida H Lopez
- University Press of Florida
- Hardcover
- 9780813061030
- 9.02 X 5.98 X 0.81 inches
- 1.38 pounds
- Literary Criticism > Caribbean & Latin American
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Timely and salient. In addition to tracing the trajectory of narratives of return, this study puts into relief the idea that there is no singular process of return.--Andrea O'Reilly Herrera, author of Cuban Artists across the Diaspora: Setting the Tent against the House
Outstanding. L�pez's interpretation of the narratives of the �migr�'s real or imagined returns to their homeland is insightful, sensitive, well documented, and informed by current debates about diasporas, exile, transnationalism, and identity.--Jorge Duany, author of Blurred Borders: Transnational Migration between the Hispanic Caribbean and the United States
While the stories and resettlement patterns of Cubans who have left their home island have been widely documented, the subject of return in the Cuban diaspora remains understudied.
In this one-of-a-kind volume, Iraida L�pez explores various narratives of return by those who left Cuba as children or adolescents. Including memoirs, semi-autobiographical fiction, and visual arts, many of these accounts feature a physical arrival on the island while others depict a metaphorical or vicarious experience by means of fictional characters or childhood reminiscences. As two-way migration increases in the post-Cold War period, many of these narratives put to the test the boundaries of national identity.
Through a critical reading of works by Cuban American artists and writers like Mar�a Brito, Ruth Behar, Carlos Eire, Cristina Garc�a, Ana Mendieta, Gustavo P�rez Firmat, Ernesto Pujol, Achy Obejas, and Ana Men�ndez, L�pez highlights the affective ties as well as the tensions underlying the relationship between returning subjects and their native country. Impossible Returns also looks at how Cubans still living on the island depict returning �migr�s in their own narratives, addressing works by Jes�s D�az, Humberto Sol�s, Carlos Acosta, Nancy Alonso, Leonardo Padura, and others. Blurring the lines between disciplines and geographic borders, this book underscores the centrality of Cuba for its diaspora and bears implications for other countries with widespread populations in exile.
Author Bio
Iraida H Lopez is Professor of Spanish language and literature at the Ramapo College Of New Jersey. Her teaching interests cover Hispanic Caribbean Literature and Popular Culture, New York as a Latino Cityscape, Latin American Literature since 1910, Capstone Seminar: Rewriting Hispanic Identity Constructions, Hispanic Women’s Voices and Images, Latin American Culture and Society and all levels of Spanish.
Professor Lopez's research interests include Memoirs and Autobiography, Women’s Writings, Latino/a Literature, Caribbean Literature and Popular Culture, and Contemporary Latin American Fiction.
Education
B.A., magna cum laude, The City College, CUNY
M.A., The City College, CUNY
Ph.D., The City University of New York
Source: Ramapo College Of New Jersey
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