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Ricardo Cortez Cruz

Born: 1964 in Decatur, Illinois
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Cruz is a Professor and the Creative Writng Associate Chair at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

Biography: N/A


Awards:
  • Charles H. and N. Mildred Nilon Award for Excellence in Minority Fiction;

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers

Email: rccruz@ilstu.edu
Website: http://www.ricardocortezcruz.com/
Ricardo Cortez Cruz on WorldCat : http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ricardo+cortez+cruz


Selected Titles

Five days of bleeding :
ISBN: 9781573660037 OCLC: 33218239

Straight outta Compton /
ISBN: 0932511619 OCLC: 29878780

Fiction Collective Two, Normal [Ill.] : ©1992.

"Straight Outta Compton is about living large, living in the fast lane. It raps to its readers about being black, being born and raised in the L.A. ghetto, being so-called "Niggaz 4-Life," being sweet on black life (for those in it, the beat goes on). It focuses on the lives of two black men, Rooster and Clive-nem, who grow up together in Compton. Clive starts out like a big brother to Rooster, but Rooster changes. After Clive's daddy dies of a drug overdose, the story shifts. Rooster, the main character living large, becomes obsessed with women. Meanwhile, Clive wants to break from Compton. He and Rooster split up, fall into rival gangs - the Bloods and the Crips - and begin to hate each other. Clive has other problems besides Rooster - namely, Compton. He thinks that he's made a girl pregnant. He's involved with gangs. Straight Outta Compton samples from all aspects of black life in its search to have its characters find what rapper Heavy D. would call a "Peaceful Journey." It wasn't just written; it was mixed by a DJ, and the result is hyped!"--BOOK JACKET.

 

 

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