Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry

Censorship is the banning of cultural production (literature, music, film, etc.), either in part or in its entirety. Anaya’s essay focuses on different types of censorship: hierarchically-imposed and self-imposed. Regarding hierarchically-imposed censorship, Anaya comments that mainstream American society restricts Chicano expression through various means, including privileging the English language and other elements specific largely to white Western culture. Some prejudiced Americans have even taken to book burning. These tactics have led to self-imposed censorship wherein many Chicano authors limit their own creative expression to abide by the status quo.

A gatekeeper, or “keeper,” is someone who plays a pivotal role in determining what literature is widely accessible. Publishers and schools are keepers because they can use their power to promote or suppress literature; Anaya asserts that they use their power for censorship and to minimize Chicano expression. Such gatekeeping weakens the United States’ multiculturalism because only the privileged, uncensored voices and narratives remain available to the majority of the people. 

Multiculturalism is a society’s embrace and promotion of different cultures. Anaya acknowledges that the United States is moving toward a multiculturalist society, but at the time of writing “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” in 1993, the United States still has not fully realized it.