In his introduction to "The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry" (University of Arizona Press, $17.95 paperback), editor Francisco Aragón recounts the history of similar anthologies going back to 1992. He informs us that Ray González, an editor of one such collection, had observed that Latino writers used their poetry to find "ways to overcome political barriers placed upon them" and "preserving the traditions of a culture" that emphasize "close familial ties."

Aragón notes that "poems that address the social and the political continue to be vital strands in Latino poetry today." However, with time comes change and evolution. Aragón believes that "the canvas is now larger, its border expanded to include subject matter that is not overtly political."

"The Wind Shifts" showcases 25 emerging Latino and Latina poets who succeed on the power and beauty of their language and ideas, no matter what the subject matter.

To be sure, the larger canvas is one of the most striking aspects of this new anthology. True, as Aragón states, there are poems that can be called "social" or "political," such as Paul Martínez Pompa's succinct cry against inner-city violence in his poem, "How to Hear Chicago":

Here a spirit must yell

to be heard yet a bullet

need only whisper to make

its point -- sometimes I imagine

you right before your death

with an entire city in your ears.

There is also Adela Najarro's "San Francisco," where cultures collide and mingle and jostle for attention:

Above a Cuban restaurant, where waiters serve

black bean hummus and chocolate croissants,

hangs the gay pride flag alongside

a Direct TV satellite dish.

But, as Aragón promises, there are pieces here that expand the poetic canvas to include, for example, David Hernandez's "Wile E. Coyote Attains Nirvana" which is inspired by the famously thwarted -- and starving -- cartoon character:


from the afterlife, he meditates

under a sandstone arch

and gets it: craving equals suffering.

The bulb of enlightenment

blazes over his head.

We are treated to a variety of voices and styles. Urayoán Noel is in full poetry-slam mode in the six-part "Kool Logic":

Some say modern man is hollow,

Others say it's a condition

Called 'postmodern.' Do you follow?

Could this use some exposition?

In the poignant "Listening for Her," Lidia Torres describes the changing roles once age has overtaken a mother's mental capacity:

I clean my mother's body

abandoned long ago by its brains cells.

She allows me to move her limbs,

unfold her skin, yielding

like an infant.

And in Carolina Monsivais' "Seasons of Writing," the poet describes the quicksilver nature of putting words onto paper:

Sometimes the clouds

in my mind fill up

and at first

drop like a drizzle

gently covering

the page in a mist É

There are poems of all styles, from avant-garde to traditional, inspired by a myriad of human experiences: an evocative Frida Kahlo painting; helping one's father cut lawns for the wealthy; Bible stories; the quiet horror of testing positive for HIV; accidentally killing the family cat. In other words, "The Wind Shifts" presents new Latino poetry in all its varied forms and subject matter by innovative, intrepid writers who purposefully stretch the canvas upon which they paint.

This is a compelling and exhilarating addition to Latino letters.

Daniel A. Olivas is the author of four books including "Devil Talk: Stories" (Bilingual Press). He shares blogging duties on La Bloga (, which is dedicated to Chicano literature and art. His Web site is and he may be reached at