Saraciea J. Fennell's introduction to Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed begins with the assertion, "We are so much more than... myths." Edited by Fennell, the anthology successfully brings together 15 authors who interrogate stereotypes about people from the Latin American diaspora. These stories offer a bracing dive into the reality of racist microaggressions, family ghosts and cultural isolation.
The standout "Eres un Pocho," by Mark Oshiro, is boldly told in second person. Oshiro describes their upbringing as a trans-racial adoptee who felt "like an exhibit in a zoo," their story leading readers off an emotional cliff in search of language and community. Language is explored in several pieces, including Ibi Zoboi's "The Haitian Sensation," which describes "trying to pass as 'Spanish' " to fit in with Black Dominican girls in grade school. Zoboi points out that the media is partly responsible in creating Latinx stereotypes in that it "has mostly portrayed the whitest parts of Spanish-speaking countries." The Afro-Latinx authors echo the displacement that comes with being Black and Latinx, and the racism pervasive within Latin American communities. A powerful example is the poetic prose in Julian Randall's "#Julian4Spiderman," in which Randall's coming-of-age story as a boy "begging to be seen" centers on Marvel's AfroLatino SpiderMan, Miles Morales.
The impressive lineup of Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed offers a wide scope of personal essays ranging in narrative voice and structure, the stories unflinching in their earnestness but also filled with music and food and joy. This collection is necessary reading. --Zoraida Córdova, author and editor