Ilan Stavans - The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature

In 2011, after thirteen years of preparation, Stavans, as general editor, published The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature, a 2,700-page compendium that includes more than two hundred authors and covers from the colonial period (the earliest author included is Fray Bartolomé de las Casas) to the present time. The anthology features Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Puerto Ricans in the island and the mainland, and other Latinos. It also features a section with samples by Latin American writers such as Octavio Paz and Roberto Fernández Retamar discussing the United States.

The Norton Anthology followed in the footsteps of similar ventures devoted to women literature and African-American literature. It was greeted with an enthusiastic reception. Booklist gave it a starred review. It was noted in, among other places, The Boston Globe, Smithsonian, the American Book Review, World Literature Today, Literal, and NPR’s On Point with John Ashbrook. Erica Jong said “Ilan Stavans has spread a feast of Latino literature before us.” Cornel West called it ”an instant classic.” And Felipe Fernández-Armesto of University of Notre Dame stated: “Imaginatively conceived, painstakingly executed, stunningly broad, profoundly stirring, endlessly engaging, this book can change the way the world thinks about America, and the way Americans think about themselves.” It was criticized also for including few authors born in Central America.