Rosa Alcala's 'Where The Self Loses Its Boundaries'

I attended a SWP Faculty Reading for my Naropa Commentary. Rosa Alcala’s work: “Where the Self Loses its Boundaries” interested me the most because it was a topic that I can relate to easily and believe is important to society. She majored in English, taught at the University of Texas and has translated multiple works. Alcala comes from Latino background and discussed the topic of identity through her poetry.

Alcala stated that society defines people by demographics such as age, gender, and ethnicity and while it may be true that those things can physically identify somebody, there is much more to someone than that. Those are the “boundaries” that make people lose sight of who they really are. It is experiences and what things people go through

that allows them to create an identity, not just live by what people in general see.
Culture is often a topic that people are nervous or afraid to talk about because it can be such a sensitive topic. Not everyone goes through the same things in life, therefore it may be difficult to relate and truly understand someone else’s perspective. Generally people do not like to talk about the social/emotional issues that come with it, especially in the United States, but because they are so present and consistent in Alcala’s work, that makes her stand out and be different than old-fashioned poets. There are not as many writers writing about culture and ethnicity and for those reasons, Alcala is very much influenced. Self-identity is a personal experience, but by thinking outside of customary beliefs, one can find itself and regain that individuality.
Alcala’s work could easily be defined as an “outlier” of English literature because she is not writing about the traditional things that create self-identity. Instead of writing about how her demographical background shapes her, she uses experience and knowledge to discuss those things. Though those things have an influence in the way the direction of her life goes, her work argues that what actually happens to her allow her to make choices that define what kind of person she aspires to be and that allows her to find herself. She pushes boundaries in her writing because she points out how it is not right to stay within these restricted perceptions. She challenges her readers to think outside of what society thinks and that in itself makes her a different than traditional English literature author.