Judith Ortiz Cofer describes herself as the product of two worlds, urban America and the island of Puerto Rico, and her work is a reflection of this cross-culturalism. Born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, in 1952, Ortiz Cofer spent her early years on the island in the company of her mother, grandmother, and aunt while her father served in the U.S. Navy. Before long, however, her father's military career took the family to Paterson, New Jersey, beginning the family's pattern of moving back and forth between the mainland and Puerto Rico. Ortiz Cofer's parents, J. M. and Fanny, had strikingly different feelings about American life, and this disparity resulted in a feeling of conflict in their daughter. While Ortiz Cofer's father was quiet, serious, and imperative that the family assimilate, her mother was flamboyant and warm, never comfortable in New Jersey. Cofer's mother so longed for her...