Message to Aztlan: Selected Readings Book

I came across this basically by accident - National Poetry Month meant Overdrive had a collection of options and the Book Riot Read Harder challenge meant I was in the market for some poetry.

This turns out to involve maybe a quarter poetry. It's the writings of Corky, a leader in the Chicano Justice Movement here in Denver. There are also two plays, speeches, letters to the editor etc.

It was an interesting read: I'd never heard of Gonzales nor any of this history and after reading about the American Indian Movement in a book earlier this year (In the Spirit of Crazy Horse) this added to the general picture of activists in the sixties and seventies.

The poems themselves I found a bit challenging. The plays had some really sexist women's roles - which seemed in contrast to what was said in the speeches. The speeches were very, very of their time but informative. There were some parts about police violence that really drive home that not enough has changed.

Message to Azlan contains Corky's selected writings. It includes his epic poem I am Joaquin, seven major speeches, two unpublished plays, poetry, and seleted correspondence. Becuase I read Vigil's The Crusade for Justice, I can place the events where the speeches occured and to which the correspondence refers. I've studied Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. I admire him greatly.