Carlos F. Ortega
Special to the Times

Chicano poetry made its presence known in the 1970s, confronting the mainstream literary community with a genre defining the experience of a people.

The poetry was confrontational, nationalistic and very personal. Jose Montoya's "El Louie" remains a classic from this period. Early Chicano poets wrote from the heart and tried to capture the Chicano experience.

To some critics -- poets and especially university faculty -- Chicano poetry lacked craft. Too much emotion. Yet the poetry contained a ring of truth. We could identify with classic poems such as "I am Joaquin" by Corky Gonzalez or "Stupid America" by the late Abelardo Delgado.

The poems matured and at times were not as political, but images of the Chicano experience remained a strong suit of the poems.

Luis A. Lopez's touching and insightful book, "Warrior Poet of the Fifth Sun" (www.aztecpoet.com, $16.95), is an artistic work. Lopez, who lives in San Jose, Calif., offers the gift of 40 poems that capture the essence of Chicano poetry with the common experience of the human condition.

In the opening poem, Lopez uses the image of Chichen Itza, the classic Maya city: shadows of the serpent / born of a sun-moon kiss / entering you / you embraced me ... ninety-one steps of timeworn indio clay ... half step at a time inhaling answers exhaling truth.

In the poem "Poet of the Red and Black Ink," Lopez reaches back to a pre-Columbian symbol of red and black ink, which was used to describe the insightfulness of thought among Mexican scribes and philosophers who wrote down universal ideas in their ancient books.

Where are the words / that flying true / hit their mark / that ran away / stuck to their target / where are the words / that fired perfectly / the first time / and penetrated the flesh so easily.

Lopez aptly turns to the personal in "Abuelita:" the prints of your fingertips have been left on my soul / like the stain of a wine red sea. / Aurora! My heart, / my everlasting song / come home and sing to me. "

Then there is his poem "God," one of my favorite in the collection. I met god today / he came right up to me in the park ... he was a dark man / hair in tangles / shoeless feet ... He had this glow about him / as he asked me for a coin ... I was certain I was out of change / and so I told him no. After a second chance, Lopez produces a coin, and that glow / that fire within his eyes / it leapt out in bursts ... and it flicked against my skin ... as he blessed me / and turned to face his day.

Lopez captures the essence of the soul as he journeys from the past and then to the present. He writes, "I am a Chicano. I am a poet. I tried to separate the two, but I couldn't do it. I tried and tried, but my soul wouldn't allow it. The words are fused together as one, and always will be. It is the fabric of my existence ..."

One manner of understanding the idea of 'warrior' is simply not being afraid of who you are; it's an idea worth grasping, as it enables one's search for understanding. This is the strength of this book: The warrior poet must be honest and fearless in his work, in his life.

Carlos F. Ortega is a lecturer in Chicano Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso.