Max Martínez's short stories, which focus on those who exploit others, are often brutal yet just as often compassionate in their portrayals of human needs and failings. He does not subordinate his art to political ideology. His concern for style and structure, for the infinite shades of meaning in language, makes him a writer who looks for human beings beneath stereotypes. His protagonists are usually men and women who struggle to know themselves and to understand others in a vain and desperate attempt to survive with some dignity in an inhospitable, unjust world.

Maximiano Martínez was born in Gonzales, Texas. He has led a varied life which has included farm and ranch work while living with his uncle in Gonzales County and a period with the U.S. Navy. He attended St. Mary's University and East Texas State University, earning an M.A. from...