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William Luis. Dance Between Two Cultures: Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2001. 352pp.
William Luis's Dance Between Two Cultures (1997) is a detailed study of, as indicated by the subtitle, "Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States." Luis uses the term Latino to refer to people of Latin American descent born or raised in the United States. In the preface, Luis offers a clear explanation of his use of the term Latino, as well as clarifies the distinction he makes between the terms Hispanic and Latino. Luis states:
My definition of Latino, which reflects the lives of those born or raised in the United States, differs from the one used by the other scholars and by politicians. Whereas the : general tendency is to use the terms Hispanic and Latino interchangeably, I prefer to be more specific about the words' referentiality. Latino is a reappropriation of the nomenclature Latin, as in Latin American. The usage of Latin in the U. S. context is meant to distinguish those who reside in Latin America from those who live in the United States. But Latins or Latinos growing up within the North American cultural context are unique because they have experienced a tension between the culture of their parents and that of the United States. (x)
Luis goes on to explain that he uses the term Hispanic in reference to "those born or raised in their parents' country of origin," (x) and that the experiences of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States are "markedly different" (xi).
The book focuses on contemporary literature, both poetry and prose, by Puerto Rican American, Cuban American, and Dominican American authors. The study's objective is to draw attention to works by authors from these backgrounds and their unique experiences "between two cultures," experiences which often influence their writings. Luis views these authors as not only a cultural bridge between Latin America (particularly the Caribbean region) and the United States, but also a literary bridge. According to Luis:
Latino Caribbean writers bom or raised in the United States...