En Carne Propia / Jorge Argueta / 2017
Known best for his bilingual poetry picture books for children, Jorge Argueta is also a formidable poet and a leader, not just among US-based Salvadoran authors of his generation, but of Latino literature and US lit at large. His latest offering is a memoir version of his life, written in clear, cutting short lined verse. This book felt like a blessed opportunity to sit at an elders feet and listen to him narrate his life in broad strokes, zooming in on moments of emotional intensity. The balance of memoir, poetry, and clarity masterfully manages to create a sense of vulnerability without exposing the personal to the public. This is an incredibly adept move, especially considering the wave of tell-all sensationalism that many artists engage in these days, trying to out-bleed one another in stages and pages. I'll most cherish Argueta's descriptions of finding healing in Native ceremony for his alcoholism and his reconnecting of his Nawat roots. I hope scholars, Salvadoran literati, and Latino lit takes his work more seriously in the upcoming decades. 4/5