Puerto Rico Is in the Heart Emigration, Labor, and Politics in the Life and Work of Frank Espada

Set against the backdrop of contemporary US economic history, Puerto Rico Is in the Heart examines the emigration, labor, and political experiences of documentary photographer, human rights activist, and Puerto Rican community leader Frank Espada. The first-ever chronicle of Frank Espada's life and work, this book also considers the socioeconomic and cultural impact of neoliberal programs directed at Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans - early "proto-neoliberal" policies and reforms that would have broad implications for Latinos generally and would become the economic and political templates for Chile, Central America, and other free-trade zones. Edward J. Carvalho draws on interview testimony from Frank Espada, historical and cultural data from his Puerto Rican Diaspora Project, and the writing of Frank Espada's son, the renowned poet Martín Espada, to present Frank's story of struggle, survival, and human dignity.

Edward J. Carvalho is Assistant Professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is co-editor of Academic Freedom in the Post-9/11 Era, guest editor for the Works and Days special journal issue Academic Freedom and Intellectual Activism in the Post-9/11 University (2008-2009), and author of solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short (2007).

Introduction.
1. Beloved and Reviled
2. "We came to this country broke"
3. "[N]ot good enough"
4. Organizing: "[A] Question of Survival"

5. Conclusion: The Return
Postscript: "Without love..."