Thursday, December 20, 2007

Sandra Cisneros: Happy Birthday!


Photo by John Gay

Sandra Cisneros was born on this day in Chicago in 1954. If you have not read her ... oh, my, what a treat you have ahead of you!!

Start with The House on Mango Street. It will make you laugh among other things. If you're a writer, it will make you envious.

Then, Carmelo. I loved this book. Cisneros gives us history, family dynamics and drama, delicious writing, and so much humor!

From today's Writer's Almanac:
She went on to college, and she later said she was lucky to be a girl, because her father didn't care what she studied. He just expected her to meet her husband. So she was free to study an impractical subject like English. She kept writing, and one of her professors encouraged her to apply to the Iowa Writer's Workshop.

But once Cisneros got there, she felt totally out of place. She said, "My classmates were from the best schools in the country. They had been bred as fine hothouse flowers. I was a yellow weed among the city's cracks."

Oh, but weeds give us so much nourishment!

Enjoy her books.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

very nice clog you have!I am an Iranian translator and I have translated The House on Mango Street into Farsi.
Sandra Cisneros is a natural story teller.Her works are small in size but they are like gems,rare and priceless

Ms. Manitoba said...

Thank you friend from Iran! Thanks for reading ... thanks for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated. Yes, Sandra Cisneros is so so good.