SOURCE: “No Silence for This Dreamer: The Stories of Ana Castillo,” in Poets & Writers, Vol. 28, No. 2, March–April, 2000, pp. 32–39.

In the following essay, Shea discusses Castillo's life, writings on feminism and Xicanisma, and her upcoming works.

Ana Castillo was on the ballot. When the Chicago Sun Times put together a survey in 1999 to determine the greatest Chicagoans of the century, Castillo, “writer,” was featured in an alphabetical list that included a saint—Mother Cabrini—legendary sportscaster Harry Caray, and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Does that inclusion mean that this outspoken, passionate, and determined woman, who has gained an international reputation as one of the strongest voices in contemporary Chicana literature, has gone mainstream? Or has the mainstream, with its growing interest in Latin culture, finally discovered her work and worth? It's probably a little of both for Castillo, who for the past 25 years has been steadily gaining both...