Luis Rodríguez

Western drama in which two bounty hunters join forces to capture an outlaw gang leader.

Rodríguez's life was once held in the grip of gang brotherhood and rivalries. Here he patiently traces the emotional and spiritual terrain that ultimately allowed him to understand his milieu and skillfully negotiate a sound future for himself and his family. Empowered by his experiences as a peacemaker with gangs in Los Angeles and Chicago, Rodríguez makes concrete suggestions on how to approach the violence facing youth today. He warns that we...

Poems of the barrio and of the Americas beyond.   Spanish for 'helter-skelter,' Trochemoche begins by conjuring life in the barrio, whether in a slum in a Texas border town or in L.A., the vast, hectic, desperate California metropolis where Luis J. Rodríguez grew up. For Rodríguez, only art offered deliverance from the despair of gang violence and poverty, and these poems stand as prayers for transcendence, recorded long after Rodríguez escaped...

"Luis J. Rodriguez writes about race, culture, identity, and belonging and what these all mean and should mean (but often fail to) in the volatile climate of our nation. Rodriguez has a distinctly inspiring passion and wisdom in his approach. Ultimately, the book carries the message that we must come together if we are to move forward. As he reminds us in the first essay, "The End of Belonging," "I'm writing as a Native person. I'm writing as a poet....

Growing up on the streets of East L.A., Luis Rodriguez narrowly escaped ajail term and struggled to overcome his addiction to heroin and alcohol. Rodriguez embarked on a career as a successful journalist and a highly regarded poet.Rodriguez describes with heartbreaking honesty his challenges as a husband and a father and his difficulty leaving his criminal past completely behind. Most disturbing is the terrifying realization that he cannot save his...

Since it was first published in 1999, Holler has become essential reading for new and seasoned teachers alike and is an inspiring read for many others. Weaving back and forth between Michie's awakening as a teacher and the first-person stories of his students, this highly acclaimed book paints an intimate and compassionate portrait of teaching and learning in urban America. While the popular notion of what it's like to teach in city schools is dominated...