A Mirror in My Own Backstage

Known for writings about the Latino experience in the United States, José Angel Figueroa has been a major contributor to the Puerto Rican and Latino literary movement. A Mirror In My Own Backstage explores themes of migration and social justice as well as philosophical-existential reflections about love and the human experience. "This collection gives testament to Figueroa's poetic evolution; it includes some of his most classic poems along with a new crop of innovative work by this accomplished and gifted artist who masters his craft," writes distinguished scholar Edna Acosta Belen. José Angel "brings a unique music and imagery to the definition of what American poetry is," remarks Newark Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka. The cover and interior artwork were created by Juan Sanchez, well-known for his work combining painting and photography with media clippings and found objects to expose America's policies and practices in Puerto Rico, and obstacles facing Puerto Ricans in the U.S.