Catwalk Institute is pleased to share the forthcoming publication of These Bones Can Speak: A Border Fable of the Progressive Era by Catwalk alum Adin Dobkin, coming January 26, 2027, from Little A.
Dobkin’s new work of narrative nonfiction explores the life of José Tomás Canales, a Tejano legislator who, in 1919, undertook an investigation into the Texas Rangers and their violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Moving between political biography, border history, and historical essay, These Bones Can Speak examines the intertwined histories of land, labor, reform, political power, and state violence—and asks difficult questions about how individuals respond when confronted with deeply entrenched injustice.
The book grew from years of archival research and an evolving effort to understand Canales: what compelled him to challenge the Rangers, the forces that shaped his decisions, and the limits of political reform. Dobkin describes the result as an intentionally hybrid work that follows his own process of historical discovery.
These Bones Can Speak will be published January 26, 2027. The book is available for preorder through major booksellers, including Bookshop.org.
Learn more about Adin Dobkin and the book: Adin Dobkin
