Grade: B "Octavio Paz: A Meditation" Ilan Stavans The University of Arizona Press

The context in which the reader is given a work of literature can often override the work itself. Sometimes one reads a poem or a short story and is certain of its meaning, until he or she finds out the author was female, or African American, or gay or lived in the 19th century. Then readers feel as if their interpretation of the work was wrong, and they now must view the work in this entirely new context.

This kind of backward thinking can bring clarity to the readers' interpretation, but they should be careful to not let it marginalize the author of the work they're reading.

Two recent releases from the University of Arizona Press - a book of work by poet Francisco X. Alarc—n, and an essay on the life and work of poet and essayist Octavio Paz - illustrate this perfectly. The authors' cultural identities (both are Mexican men) have much to do with their work, but it would be a shame to say their culture is the only thing they can write about.

Ilan Stavans, author of "Octavio Paz: A Meditation," covers the life of Paz, who was born in 1914 and died in 1998, from his turn as a magazine editor to his search for a political identity during Mexico's revolutionary upheaval.

What could have turned out as a simple tribute to Paz is actually a complex assessment of his life and work. Stavans does not shy away from criticizing Paz's work, something the reader realizes early on, as Stavans admits he never liked Paz's poetry.

Grade: A "From The Other Side of Night/Del otro lado de la noche" Fransisco X. Alarc—n The University of Arizona Press

Stavans, whose own views have often been at odds with others in the Latino intellectual community, refers to other thinkers such as Noam Chomsky in his critique of Paz, whom Stavans writes was "·equally at ease discussing T.S. Elliot and Buddhism, the Aztec Empire, Japanese haiku, the balkanization of the former USSR, and the torturous modernity of Latin America."

Thus, by the end of "Octavio Paz: A Meditation," the reader gets a picture of two strong intellectuals of Latino culture.

Alarc—n's poetry will remind the reader of Garcia Lorca's. Whether that's because of Alarc—n's poetry itself, or their shared culture is a little hard to tell.

"From the Other Side of Night/Del otro lado de la noche" contains both Spanish and English translations of Alarc—n's work. Some of the translations were done by Fransisco Arag—n, who has translated Lorca's work for other collections.

In fact, it was Arag—n who encouraged Alarc—n to release this new collection of his work. Alarc—n's poetry, like the poem "Imprisoned Poet" ("every morning/I awaken/alone/pretending/that my arm/is your body's/flesh/on my lips"), is bare enough to be open to many interpretations, regardless of his race, gender or sexual orientation.

Would "Imprisoned Poet" mean something entirely different if the reader knew Alarc—n was gay? Perhaps. But it shouldn't have to. Alarc—n's imagery-filled poems are about life, death, sex and love - topics that transcend his sexual and racial identity.