Authors From Our Reading List: Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Cisneros (born 1954) is an American writer known for experimenting with literary forms in works that explore cultural hybridity and economic inequality. She is a pivotal figure in the rise of Chicana literature. Her works include the novels The House on Mango Street (1984), Carmelo, or Puro cuento (2002) and Have You Seen Marie? (2012); a story collection, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991); three collections of poems, Bad Boys (1980), My Wicked Wicked Ways (1987)  and Loose Woman: Poems; and a children’s book, Hairs/Pelitos (1994). She is the founder of two foundations that serve writers and is the organizer of the Latino MacArthur Fellows (Los MacArturos). She has been honored with numerous awards including the MacArthur Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, and a Texas Medal of the Arts. 

The House on Mango Street is a 1984 coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros. It deals with Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl, and her life growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans. Esperanza is determined to "say goodbye"^[1] to her impoverished Latino neighborhood by turning to a life on the streets. Major themes include her quest for a better life and the importance of her promise to come back for "the ones [she] left behind".^[1] The novel has been critically acclaimed, and has also become a New York Times Bestseller. It has also been adapted into a stage play by Tanya Saracho.