Literature of the Puerto Rican
 Diaspora: An Overview
 Carmen Hayd6e Rivera
 University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Full appreciation of the literature of Puerto Rican diaspora writers
 involves an understanding of the process of transnationalism, a
 questioning of the ideas that underpin concepts such as "nation,"
"national" and "cultural identity," and scrutiny of the merging of histories
and linguistic hybridity.' It implies coming to terms with the works of writers
who form part of a "commuter nation," of communities in constant transition
and evolution, where the concepts of emigration and migration at once reflect
and perplex the literary representation of Puerto Rican experience.2 Critical
analysis of the literary works produced by Puerto Rican writers in the United
States must, therefore, minimally include an examination of the migratory
patterns that, to a large extent, shape significant characteristics of the writing
and influence the authors' perspectives. These patterns shed light not only
on years of political, social, and economic ties between the island and the
United States but also on the ways in which, historically, these relationships
have complicated notions of cultural identity and national affiliations, two
prominent topics in the literary works of Puerto Ricans writing in the United
States. A more profound critical inquiry of this literature would also
necessarily have to focus on how the diasporic condition continues to
influence these and other important literary themes associated with gender,
class, race, and sexuality.
 An appropriate starting point for the examination of Puerto Rican migration
is Clara Rodriguez's insightful historical and demographic study3 charting
the stages of an increasing Puerto Rican exodus from the island to the United
States after the U.S. takeover in 1898.4 Rodriguez classifies the waves of
migration into three specific periods that illustrate the historical context
and causes for leaving the island as well as the political and economic
relationships between Puerto Rico and the United States that prompted this
move.5 During the first period (1900-1945), Puerto Ricans migrated mainly
for socio-economic and political reasons. Many workers were affected by a
deteriorating economic infrastructure due to the collapse of the sugarcane