MY WICKED WICKED WAYS

Bloomington, Indiana: Third Woman Press, 1987. Fine.. Signed first edition, first printing of this collection of poems composed during the same period as THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, with the controversially suggestive photo of Cisneros on the front cover. Cisneros worked on the poems of this collection during her twenties and early thirties, as period when she says she was attempting to define herself on her own terms: "It is my autobiography, my version, my life story as told by me, not according to a male point of view." As common theme in her works, Cisneros embraces sexuality within her feminist self-definition and chose a cover design for this collection reflecting that. The design caused a "controversy" for its "overtly sexualized image" (Rivera 57). In response, Cisneros argued: "The cover is of a woman appropriating her own sexuality. In some ways, that's also why it's wicked: the scene is trespassing that boundary by saying 'I defy you. I'm going to tell my own story'" (ibid.). 8.5'' x 5.25''. Original color pictorial wrappers with cover photo by Ruben Guzman and design by Ricardo Gonzalez Sapien. viii, 93, [1] pages. Tiniest wear to extremities. (Inventory #: 45843)