Along the Diagonal

Roberto Tejada (Author) Roberto Tejada is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Carbonate of Copper (Fordham), Why the Assembly Disbanded (Fordham), and Exhibition Park. The recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, he is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in Creative Writing and Art History at the University of Houston.Mary Coffey (Foreword By) Mary K. Coffey is Professor Art History at Dartmouth College. She is the author of Orozco’s American Epic: Myth, History, and the Melancholy of Race.

"You do not know American art history until you have read Along the Diagonal: Art / Essays / América. Roberto Tejada traces a diagonal across the hemisphere, bringing Latino and Latin American artists into view – not as an addendum to U.S. art history, but as a site of open-ended contemplation on the larger, often silenced histories and asymmetrical entanglements that shape the region. Bridging disciplines, this book is indispensable for art history, cultural theory, hemispheric studies, and gender, sexuality, ethnic, and Indigenous studies." - Chon Noriega, Distinguished Professor, UCLA ". . .collects the poet and critic’s essays and lectures on Latinx and Latin American art." - Publishers Weekly "Tejada’s life work might adequately be abbreviated as the lifeline – the bridge – between us and the language arts and image worlds of Latin America. His precise portraits of the critical creative ecosystems that have animated the narrative arcs of cityscapes and public spheres in Los Angeles, Houston, and Mexico City are nothing short of thrilling. His importance in the landscape of Latinx letters cannot be overstated. Tejada is a compass for many of us navigating the choppy seas of Latinx cultural commentary and production. This essential compendium is a joy to the senses with its angular lyricism and muscular, exacting prose. Roberto Tejada proffers and deliberates on the world-making intersections of contemporary art, literature, cultural history, critical theory, performance, self-making, and memoir in a stunning sui generis style category all of his own. He is my bard of punk rock eleganza. The genealogist de las americas. A disciple of deep listening. He is your favorite interlocutor’s favorite interlocutor. I am beyond exhilarated at the long awaited arrival of Along the Diagonal!" - Raquel Gutiérrez, author of Brown Neon