SOURCE: Bromley, Anne C. “The Poetics of Migration.” American Book Review 13, no. 6 (February-March 1992): 26-27.

In the following review of Red Beans, Bromley describes Cruz's poetry as “the voice of a troubadour” speaking the hybrid language of a “society of the Americas.”

American poets speak in voices that integrate and echo many languages and traditions, resulting in an extraordinarily various literature. Yet the contemporary canon as defined by mainstream anthologies, literary journals, and critical works does not, unfortunately, accurately reflect this variety. Published on the eve of the anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the “new” world, Red Beans by Victor Hernández Cruz, The Concrete River by Luis J. Rodriguez, and Going Home Away Indian by Leo Romero offer distinctive poetic responses to and journeys through the mix of cultures made possible by this encounter.

In Red Beans, a collection of poetry and prose, Hernández Cruz embraces the...