SOURCE: Kanellos, Nicolás. A review of Red Beans. Americas Review 20, no. 1 (Spring 1992): 87.

In the following review, Kanellos describes Cruz's poetry as a “celebration of the blending of European, African, and American cultures that have made up the New World Experience.”

With Red Beans, his most recent publication, the prolific Nuyorican writer Victor Hernández Cruz now has two books in print. Cruz has been one of the U.S. Hispanic poets most recognized in “mainstream” creative writing circles and the major media (See Life magazine, April 1981). This latest effort was chosen one of the outstanding books of 1991 by Publishers Weekly. Just three short years ago, Cruz had been suffering as the victim of a common affliction in mainstream publishing: his four previous books—three published by Random House—were out-of-print. Arte Público Press then issued a volume of selected works, titled Rhythm, Content & Flavor: New & Selected...