Rigoberto González is the author of thirteen books of poetry and prose and the editor of Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing. His memoir Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa won the American Book Award, and he has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a contributing editor for Poets & Writers Magazine, serves on the executive board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle, and is an associate professor of English at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey.
"A slim volume of candid vignettes that illuminate an artist's
blossoming against a backdrop of brutal poverty and emotional
tumult."--Out
"González brings a deep, soul-crushing sadness to the pages, which
gives the book gravitas that belies its length."--Washington
Blade
"González writes with deep, soul-crushing sadness. He pens with the
beauty of a poet."--Dallas Voice
"Immigrant and gay readers may experience release in the book's
agonizing familiarity; all readers will find it lusciously
evocative."--Publishers Weekly
"Rigoberto González's trim yet artistically potent Autobiography of
My Hungers combines poetry, musings, memories, pleasures, pains,
and most importantly, yearnings that have made him the exacting
artist he has become today. . . . González's self-analysis by means
of mixed media is stimulating, enlightening, and well worth the
journey."--Bay Area Reporter
"This beautiful, unconventional memoir, infused with poetic
language, places González firmly in the top tier of American
writers. Not only aficionados of memoir, poetry, and Latin American
and gay literature but also general audiences will enjoy these
stories and poems."--Library Journal
"A haunting book, whose many senses linger long after reading
it."--Mary Cappello, author of Awkward: A Detour
"An unforgettable portrait of the artist as a young immigrant gay
poet. These brief, passionate chapters are filled with rare
courage, raw honesty, and the uncommon beauty of a life spent
yearning for consolation and hope. Absolutely arresting."--Dinty W.
Moore, author of Between Panic & Desire
Multi-award-winning poet Gonzalez (English, Rutgers-Newark, State Univ. of New Jersey) writes his second memoir, after Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa, through the lens of his hungers-appetite, yearning, desire, and want. This stirring and imaginative collection of vignettes extends from the author's childhood years, beginning shortly after his arrival in California from Mexico, and continuing through his move to New York. Whether describing a desire for new clothes to replace the tattered rags he and his immigrant family wear out of necessity, connection with his homeland, or a a lover, Gonzalez's stories are moving and often painful as he captures the feelings of isolation so common to both immigrants and gay men. At times, the narrative is punctuated by piedritas, short, poetic interludes of memory and raw emotion, which the author describes as pebbles sorted from the beans. These poems stand on their own, but they also give insight to the larger work. VERDICT This beautiful, unconventional memoir, infused with poetic language, places Gonzalez firmly in the top tier of American writers. Not only aficionados of memoir, poetry, and Latin American and gay literature but also general audiences will enjoy these stories and poems.-Mark Manivong, Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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