California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century (2004)
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and William E. Justice edited California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century, a collection of writing about the new California, published in collaboration with the California Council for the Humanities
They come from the shores of Vietnam, across the Mexican border, from Afghanistan fleeing the war, or maybe they were born here. They are Californians. Every moment California moves further away from the traditions and myths it was founded upon and the clichés that others have perpetuated. Every moment, new voices emerge—Khaled Hosseini, Dao Strom, Greg Sarris, Yxta Maya Murray, Laila Halaby—names that recall all the nations of the world, all here now, inscribing other countries and other times into the texture of this experiment called California.
As the centerpiece of the California Stories Uncovered program of the California Council for the Humanities, this literary anthology blends the fresh new voices of this state with established California writers like Joan Didion and John Steinbeck. The program, which promotes reading and writing about California’s changing face among Californians of all ages, launches in April 2005 and will feature widely promoted discussion groups, school programs, and author events statewide.
In poems, excerpts from novels, interviews, stories, and personal essays, the writers found in this anthology stretch the boundaries of genre to create a startling portrait of the state. California Uncovered is a sincere look at the puzzles and paradoxes that make California what it is. It is an attempt to draw us all together in the common cause of understanding.
For more information about the California Stories Uncovered campaign, please visit www.calhum.org.
