Gloria Anzaldua


   Internationally recognized cultural theorist and creative writer,
Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, passed away on May 15 from diabetes-related
complications.  She was 61 years old.  A versatile author, Anzaldúa
published poetry, theoretical essays, short stories, autobiographical
narratives, interviews, children's books, and multigenre anthologies. As
one of the first openly lesbian Chicana authors, Anzaldúa played a major role in redefining contemporary Chicano/a and lesbian/queer identities. And as
editor or co-editor of three multicultural anthologies, Anzaldúa has also played a vital role in developing an inclusionary feminist movement.

     Anzaldúa is best known for Borderlands/La Frontera: The New
Mestiza (1987), a hybrid collection of poetry and prose which was named one
of the 100 Best Books of the Century by both Hungry Mind Review and Utne
Reader. Anzaldúa's published works also include This Bridge Called My Back:
Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981), a ground-breaking collection
of essays and poems widely recognized by scholars as the premiere
multicultural feminist text; Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras:
Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists-of-Color (1990), a
multigenre collection used in many university classrooms; two bilingual
children's books--Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado
(1993) and Prietita and the Ghost Woman/ Prietita y la Llorona (1995);
Interviews/Entrevistas (2000), a memoir-like collection of interviews;
and this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation (2002), a
co-edited collection of essays, poetry, and artwork that examines the
current status of feminist/womanist theorizing.  Anzaldúa has won
numerous awards, including the Before Columbus Foundation American Book
Award,the Lambda Lesbian Small Book Press Award, an NEA Fiction Award, the Lesbian Rights Award, the Sappho Award of Distinction, an NEA (National
endowment for the Arts) Fiction Award, and the American Studies Association
Lifetime Achievement Award.

      Anzaldúa was born in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas in
1942, the eldest child of Urbano and Amalia Anzaldúa.  She received her B.A.
from Pan American University, her M.A. from University of Texas, Austin,
and was completing her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
She is survived by her mother, Amalia, her sister, Hilda, and two brothers:
Urbano Anzaldúa, Jr. and Oscar Anzaldúa; five nieces, three nephews,
eighteen grandnieces and grandnephews, a multitude of aunts and uncles, and many close friends. A public memorial will be planned at a later date.


[Source:  forwarded email from: Irene Reti ]
Subject: revised Anzaldua obit/press release