Essential Questions: 

1.  What themes emerge from the collection of short stories in An Island Like You? 

2.  The structure of An Island as an interrelated series of short stories is somewhat unique.  In what ways did this structure enable Ortiz Cofer to create a meaningful interplay between the stories? 

3.  How do the stories exist on two levels simultaneously:  serving to inform readers about the struggles of Puerto Ricans on the mainland and universally applying to our lives? 

Helpful Links: 

The essential link:  Discover Judith Ortiz Cofer's own webpage!  Check out her Curriculum Vita (resume) and note ALL of her writings.  Also read an interview with her.  Then imagine if she were your Creative Writing Professor at the University of Georgia.

Read a biography about Judith Ortiz Cofer and peruse a brief list of her works.

"Don't Misread My Singals".  Read a "Hers" column that Cofer wrote for Glamour in 1992.