Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English and Writing Studies

Department

English

First Reader/Committee Chair

Vanessa Ovalle-Perez

Abstract

The 19th century was a time when British and American literatures

flourished greatly. This period is a favorite among students of English

studies and it has produced works that instill a great sense of pride in

British and American readers. However, in the realm of American

literature, there exists an entire body of literature that has been forgotten

to time and archived away. 19th-century Los Angeles was occupied by

Spanish-language newspapers that produced a body of poetry that has

rarely been researched or discussed.

This thesis will be close-reading poetry from 19th-century Angeleno

newspapers, such as El Clamor Público, La Crónica, La Estrella and

several more. It will discuss the poetry of Jesús María Paredes, Manuel

Clemente Rojo and several other anonymous poets. The poetry of 19th-

century Los Angeles discusses many topics, such life, death, love, social

and political criticism, nature and religion. This rich body of work

demonstrates the passion and the multifaceted capabilities of Latinx

writers. Much historical research has been conducted on these poets and

limited print culture that published their works. Unfortunately, very little

literary scholarship exists to discuss these works. One goal of this thesis is

to begin generating literary interpretations of these poems.

But the ultimate goal of this thesis is to postulate that Spanish

language literature in the United States is equally deserving of being

considered American literature. English studies departments in California

are in a unique position to start becoming inclusive of this forgotten piece

of Californian literature and Californian history. Not only does it instill a

sense of local pride, but it instills a sense of pride in Latinx students to

know that they have a literary history in the United States, too.

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