“I am a woman and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. Those are the things that give my writing power. They are the things that give it sabor, the things that give it picante.”1
Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois to her Mexican father, Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral, Chicana mother, Elvira Cordero Anguiano, and six brothers. Growing up for Cisneros was hard because of both her father and her brothers. Her family constantly moved back and forth between Mexico City and Chicago because of her father’s longing for his home country and because that was where his mother lived. Cisneros explains, “Because we moved so much, and always in neighborhoods that appeared like France after World War II—empty lots and burned-out-buildings—I retreated inside myself.”2 And Cisneros’s brothers expected her to take on the role of the traditional female causing her to feel like she often had seven fathers. During this time of loneliness, Cisneros turned to herself and books for company. She began to read many books and write poetry, hoping to find a doorway out of her families poverty. Cisneros checked out a book from the library named The Little House over and over again. The house in
. . .
I finished enjoying my warm cup of Atole and hear my old Chicago clock chime in 6 o’clock. After a lengthy drive into town, I finished up my errands and came back home quickly. The sky turned an unbelievable dusty rose color mixed with the littlest bits of fiery orange and a chalk blue. The bench beneath me is an antique that I retrieved from my Grandmother in Mexico City when I traveled down there. My hands shoot into the air and my legs out in front of me. Cisneros has constantly returned to her community, creating a powerful connection between art and politics. She’s heard that excuse more than once in our friendship. Cisneros has lectured at CSU, UCB, UCI, UMAA, and UNMA. I sit down in the comfortable, deep red chair in front of the computer and realign the computer camera so that I’m in the middle of it. “The readers who are going to like my stories the best…are Chicanas. In 1987, after receiving the National Endowment For the Arts Fellowship for poetry, Cisneros wrote her first hit book of poetry titled My Wicked, Wicked Way. An hour after winning a $225,000 grant form the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Cisneros was back in San Antonio, her current home, where she lectures at a local arts center. I began to work on some new poems and finish five of them before I realize it is Noon.
Approximate Word count =
1821
Approximate Pages =
7 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|
