Elena Poniatowska is recognized today as one of Mexico's greatest writers. Lilus Kikus, published in 1954, was her first book. However, it was labeled a children's book because it had a young girl as protagonist, it included illustrations, and the author was an unknown woman. Lilus Kikus has not received the critical attention or a translation into English it deserved, until now. Accompanying Lilus Kikus in this first American edition are four of Poniatowska's short stories with female protagonists, only one of which has been previously published in English. Poniatowska is admired today as a feminist, but in 1954, when Lilus Kikus appeared, feminism didn't have broad appeal. Twenty-first-century readers will be fascinated by the way Poniatowska uses her child protagonist to point out the flaws in adult society. Each of the drawings by the great surrealist Leonora Carrington that accompany the chapters in Lilus Kikus expresses a subjective, interiorized vision of the child character's contemplations on life. "A tantalizingly complex feminist author, whose importance and originality have yet to be appreciated in this country."--Cynthia Steele, author of Politics, Gender, and the Mexican Novel, 1968-1988

The first English edition of the work of one of Mexico's most admired women writers.

The first English edition of the work of one of Mexico's most admired women writers.

"The Skin of the Sky" details the efforts of a country to join the 21st century and paints the portrait of a lonely man who can find true contentment and satisfaction only in the stars.

Descended from the last king of Poland, born in France, educated at a British grade school in Mexico and a Catholic high school in the United States, HŽl?ne Elizabeth Louise Amelie Paula Dolores Poniatowska AmorÑotherwise known as ElenaÑis a passionate, socially conscious writer who is widely known in Mexico and who deserves to be better known everywhere else. With his subjectÕs complete cooperation (she granted him access to fifty years of personal files), Michael Schuessler provides the first critical biography of PoniatowskaÕs life and work. She is perhaps best known outside of Mexico as the author of Massacre in Mexico (La noche de Tlatelolco) and HereÕs to You, Jesusa! (Hasta no verte, Jesœs m’o). But her body of published books is vast, beginning with the 1954 publication of Lilus Kikus, a collection of short stories. And she is still writing today. Schuessler, who befriended Poniatowska more than fifteen years ago, is a knowledgeable guide to her engrossing life and equally engaging work. As befits her, his portrait is itself a literary collage, a Òliving kaleidoscopeÓ that is constantly shifting to include a multiplicity of voicesÑthose of fellow writers, literary critics, her nanny, her mother, and the writer herselfÑeasily accessible to general readers and essential to scholars. Available in English for the first time, this insightful book includes 40 photographs and drawings and an annotated bibliography of PoniatowskaÕs worksÑthose that have already been translated into English and those awaiting translation.

This fictionalized account of the life of Tina Modotti is a fascinating story of the complex woman caught up in the social and political turbulence of the pre-World War II era.

Based in the peasantry for the most part, Latin American women's art is profoundly tied to a complex fabric of cultural heritage. This glorious celebration of the unsung and virtually unseen women artists of Latin America presents a dazzling group of women who challenge common assumptions about the nature of artists and their art. Those profiled include painters, sculptors, photographers, textile artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, and filmmakers. Photos.