With this new Latino literary collection Erika M. Martínez has brought together twenty-four engaging narratives written by Dominican women and women of Dominican descent living in the United States. The first volume of its kind, Daring to Write's insightful works offer readers a wide array of content that touches on a range of topics: migration, history, religion, race, class, gender, and sexuality. The result is a moving and imaginative critique of how these factors intersect and affect daily lives.
The volume opens with a foreword by Julia Alvarez and includes short stories, novel excerpts, memoirs, and personal essays and features work by established writers such as Angie Cruz and Nelly Rosario, alongside works by emerging writers. Narratives originally written in Spanish appear in English for the first time, translated by Achy Obejas. An important contribution to Latino/a studies, these writings will introduce readers to a new collection of rich literature.
"For teachers, this collection complicates and expands our understanding, and gives us insight into the lives and stories of Dominican women, including the ones in our classrooms, as well as those of their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters. The book also makes new writers available to teachers, many of whom are published here for the first time in English. . . . The stories and narratives
Meg Petersen, National Writing Project
"Study in Perfect is a well-curated essay collection that examines the breadth and depth of the ideal of perfection. . . . Every detail has been attended to, from the project level to the sentence level. The cover is serene and appealing; it echoes perfectly the calm, reflective tone of the book."
Donna Miscolta, Seattle Review of Books
"A scrupulously curated and a vividly brilliant anthology; in its entirety it is a full-throated song, a treasure chest, a diamond, a spell."
