Working in Tandem: BGSU’s Latinx Issues Conference and Literature by Latinx Authors

Recommendations by Prof. Amanda McGuire Rzicznek

Introduction by Mary Ross | Site Director

Today, March 10, 2021, BGSU is hosting its annual Latinx Issue Conference. The purpose of this conference, according to the webpage, is the following:

“The goal of the multilingual Latino/a/x Issues Conference is to support student research; to increase the visibility of Latinx cultures, politics, and interventions in BGSU and our region; and to provide a venue for the recognition of the accomplishments of our Latinx communities.  The Latino/a/x Issues Conference includes the eSTRELLA which means star in Spanish, and in the conference name stands for STudent REsearch on Latino/a/e/x and Latin American Studies.” 

Literature by Latinx authors is a something that works in tandem with a conference that promotes visibility and provides a space for recognition of the accomplishments of the Latinx community. Professor Amanda McGuire Rzicznek recognizes the importance of these working together to promote more understanding and visibility for the Latinx community. She has put together a list of books across genres that she recommends people read in order to do just this.

Picture Books 

• Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
• Vamos! Let’s Go Eat by Raul the Third III
• Sharuko by Monica Brown and Elisa Chavarri

Middle Grade 

• They Call Me Guero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
• Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina

Young Adult 

• Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher

Graphic Novels 

• Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper and Raul the Third III
• Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide by Isabel Quintero & Zeke Pena
• Angelitos: A Graphic Novel by Ilan Stavans and Santiago Cohen
• Manuelito by Elisa Amado and Abraham Urias
• Graphic Borders: Latino Comic Books Past, Present and Future edited by Frederick Luis Aldama and Christopher Gonzalez

Poetry 

• Repetition Nineteen by Monica de la Torre
• From the Inside Quietly by Eloisa Amezcua
• How to Love a Country by Richard Blanco