I wrote the opening essay for this powerful new book called Ban This: The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, edited by SJ Rivera, which was published on July 4th, 2012, is now available at Barnes & Nobles and Amazon.com in paperback from Broken Sword Publications.
Book Description:
WARNING: This book is a weapon. This book is extremely dangerous. This book is explosive. This book is illegal. This book could land you in jail! Broken Sword Publications proudly presents, ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature, an unparalleled survey of some the best Xican@ voices of the modern era. Santino J. Rivera, author and indie publisher, introduces readers to the most significant and compelling voices of the Xican@ movement since Message to Aztlán. Selecting the best literature available from barrios coast to coast, Rivera has created an anthology that in itself is an act of defiance to those who would ban books, censor culture and re-write history. This collection reflects both a dynamic and cohesive portrait of modern Xican@ literature – which is American literature. These are the stories for a new generation of revolutionaries. This groundbreaking anthology includes works by Francisco X. Alarcón, Gustavo Arellano, Lalo Alcaraz, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rodolfo Acuña as well as works from many new voices culled from the woodsheds of Neo Aztlán. ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature is a weapon of mass education. These are our stories and they deserve to be heard. This book is a tightly-packed tome of literary rebellion just waiting to be unleashed.
Full list of contributors in alphabetical order:
Adrianna SimoneAlejandro Dennis MoralesAndrea J. SerranoAnnemarie PérezArt MezaDavid CidDeadleeDel ZamoraFrancisco X. AlarcónFrank MundoFrank S. LechugaGina RuizGustavo ArellanoHector Chavana Jr.JehunikoJessica Lopez LymanJim MarquezJohnathan GomezJosé-Ariel CuevasKarina OlivaLalo AlcarazLauro VasquezLizz HuertaLuis Alberto UrreaLuisa LeijaMaria CesenaMario BarreraMatt SedilloMiguel JimenezMilo M. AlvarezNoemi MartinezOdilia Galván RodríguezPhyllis Victoria LopezRoberto “Dr. Cintli” RodriguezRodolfo AcunaSara Ines CalderonSantino J. RiveraVincent CooperXicano X
Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy and Other Stories.
After a decade of writing book reviews, interviewing authors and promoting local literary events, I finally finished my own book called The Brubury Tales.
“The Brubury Tales [by Frank Mundo] is a landmark book, in what is going to be — and already is — an exceptional, distinguished literary career.” — Carolyn See, the Friday-morning book reviewer for the Washington Post and bestselling author of Handyman and There Will Never Be Another You.
An ambitious homage to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, The Brubury Tales takes Chaucer’s story and frame to Los Angeles just after the riots, where seven security guards on the graveyard shift swap tales in a hilarious storytelling competition for Christmas vacation time.
The tales themselves are “readable” updates of classic stories by Dostoevsky, Dickens, Boccaccio, O Henry, Poe, Twain, Gilman, Crane, Saki, Anderson, Bierce, and even Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. This edition also contains a special foreword by California literary legend, Carolyn See.
Purchase a copy of The Brubury Tales by Frank Mundo, or read an excerpt from the book.
Filed under Stories
A short story that I wrote for my late brother, Joe Mundo, was published today at The Journal of Cultural Conversation. It’s just one of many creative and cathardic projects my mother and I are doing together to address my brother’s death in positive ways.
My goal with this site and LA Books Examiner is to create a kind of literary world of which I’d like to be a part. Normally I write about books and poetry and authors and how these things and people affect our community, lives and our writing. This story I wrote is a little different than that, but the goal is the same. I hope you will take a few minutes to read the story and share in this goal.
The story is called A Day at the Beach and is available at the Journal of Cultural Conversation. 
Filed under Stories
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