Dec 19, 2009

Bad Influence | Author Biography

Judith Ortiz Cofer describes herself as the product of two worlds, urban America and the island of Puerto Rico, and her work is a reflection of this cross-culturalism. Born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, in 1952, Ortiz Cofer spent her early years on the island in the company of her mother, grandmother, and aunt while her father served in the U.S. Navy. Before long, however, her father's military career took the family to Paterson, New Jersey, beginning the family's pattern of moving back and forth between the mainland and Puerto Rico. Ortiz Cofer's parents, J. M. and Fanny, had strikingly...