Hispanic Sonnets

by Alex Z. Salinas

In Alex Z. Salinas' previous poetry collections, he commenced conversation between the damaged body politic within himself and the bizarre, sometimes beautiful dream worlds of writers, painters and musicians—Muses—living and dead. In Hispanic Sonnets, the dials are turned up, the stakes (whatever they may be) are heavier, and the chorus of voices is louder, clearer. Hispanic Sonnets is part homage to the venerated and part turning the other cheek. In the final section of this book, a series of 15-line, free-verse sonnets continue the dialogue Salinas started in South Texas, or, to him, the center of his heart. This collection is the dream the poet still lives in, shattered and stitched back together with family, love, loss, pride and dignity; in short, Hispanic Sonnets is the book that least embarrasses him.

"A collection that offers a captivating mosaic of a poet’s interior life." — Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Poetry

164 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2023

About the author

Alex Z. Salinas is the author of four volumes of poetry and a book of stories, City Lights From the Upside Down, which was included in the National Book Critics Circle’s Critical Notes. He is also the author of a novel, The Dream Life of Larry Rios. His fiction and poetry have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology. He lives in South Texas.

Reviews

[Jennifer Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Hispanic Sonnets, Alex Z. Salinas has a way with words, which subsequently have their way with each of his readers. That way is tender. It’s humorous. It’s evocative and even violent at times. Salinas is as inventive in Hispanic Sonnets as he’s been throughout his poetry collections … and then some. The collection is its own surprising and satisfying volta, culminating his body of published work to date.

As in his first collection, WARBLES, Salinas continues to pay homage to his heritage and explore aspects of his identity—from the brutal conquistadors to conquered native roots. He expounds again on the intersection of faith and modern life as well. As in DREAMT, or The Lingering Phantoms of Equinox, he brings his fellow writers to the page, giving back life to those whose work continues to represent them after death. Like an orchestra conductor, he uses the poems held within Hispanic Sonnets to elevate the conversation he has been having with the reader for several years. In “Communion,” for instance, he draws all three favorite topics together, referencing Cormac McCarthy, “old children of Mexico,” and “hostcupped hands” with beautiful imagery as the connecting rhythm.

His coining of the term Hispanic Sonnet showcases his originality in its most apparent form. Less obvious, but equally present, is the craft he puts into each, not just word, but syllable, consonant, vowel. They perch delicately on the page like a fly on the tip of Don Quixote’s sword, which he describes in “Hispanic sonnet, or Adornment.”

Salinas reminds us in Hispanic Sonnets that words are the earth where our meaning is grown, and his garden is rich enough to sustain us all.