Full Description
Renato Rosaldo's new prose poetry collection shares his experiences and those of his group of twelve Mexican American Tucson High School friends known as the Chasers as they grew up, graduated, and fell out of touch. Derived from interviews with the Chasers and three other friends conducted after their fiftieth high school reunion, Rosaldo's poems present a chorus of distinct voices and perspectives that convey the realities of Chicano life on the borderlands from the 1950s to the present.
Contents
Prelude xi
Cast of Characters xiii
Part I.
Walnuts 3
Never Chicano Enough 5
Suddenly Blank 7
Nice Meals 8
Down the Little Arroyo 9
Never Dreamed 11
A Dark Side 13
Talking with Mom 16
Fastest Naked Sprinter 19
In the Cactus Chronicle 21
The Chaser Mystique 23
Part II.
Playing Bull 27
Sports People 29
All about Fun 32
A Quiet Guy 34
In Formation 35
Champagne in a Martini Class 38
White, Black, or Blue 41
My Inner Mexican Comes In 42
No More Oranges 45
No Emblem 46
Ode to Ralph 48
I'd Like the Job 50
Part III.
Not from Tucson 55
Ornamental Oranges 57
I Never Liked You 60
A Place to Stand 62
Fiftieth Reunion 64
I Was Shaking 69
Three Months Older 71
Guys on One Side 74
In the School Yard 76
Erased 77
You Won't Do Well 78
Part IV.
Observing 83
Never a Fighter 85
Papa y yo hablamos 86
Dad and I Talk 87
You Were or Were Not 89
Raw Eggs 90
My Brother Raul 92
I Remember 93
An Old Story 97
I Am a Chaser 99
My Dad Died When I Was Six 101
Packager 103
Sure Hope We Can Enjoy a Few More Years 107
Acknowledgments 109
