"An eye-opening study on a poet and political activist in the ranks of Gabriela Mistral and Luisa Capetillo, this is a must-have for Latin American, Puerto Rican, women's, and Caribbean studies collections."--Library Journal "In this magisterial study Pérez Rosario brings to blazing life one of the most courageous and important Puerto Rican diasporic artists of the 20th century. An indispensable book that presents Julia de Burgos in her extraordinary plenitude." --Junot Díaz "In this beautifully written and thoroughly researched study, one of the most important artistic and literary icons of the Nuyorican and Latino diaspora finally gets her due. Vanessa Perez Rosario gives us the most current and definitive resource to understand not only Julia de Burgos' extensive body of work, but also the expansive cultural movement that continues to find inspiration in her legacy."--Arlene Dávila, author of Culture Works: Space, Value and Mobility across the Neoliberal Americas"Perez Rosario interrupts the dominant narrative of Latina tragedy, showing us instead a resilient Julia de Burgos who struggled against gender discrimination, poverty, and racism… Perez Rosario's rewriting of Burgos as Latina highlights the poet's fight for self-determination and recognition, autobiographical writing style, and political commitment to decolonization and social justice."--Women's Review of Books "Reading Burgos under a different light, Perez-Rosario extends her analysis to how Burgos was/is received by other Latin American writers and artists in the United States and the Caribbean. The "becoming" of the title unfurls… It indicates a process, movement, the nomadic essence in Burgos' writing that Perez-Rosario deftly traces."--SX Salon "Becoming Julia de Burgos is a smart and original study of this important poet and cultural figure. Vanessa Pérez Rosario is an astute and insightful reader of Burgos' poetry, letters and journalism. Pérez Rosario is also a talented cultural historian: in addition to readings that yield political and aesthetic dimensions of Burgos' writing, Pérez Rosario also contextualizes Burgos' life transnationally, placing her at the center of debates among Puerto Rican intellectuals about gender, colonialism and cultural identity. An important study from an exciting and talented new critical voice."--Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War I