Sandra Cisneros: Wise Poet of Chicana Literature

Sandra Cisneros: Wise Poet of Chicana Literature The Chicana writers are a group of poets and authors of a current Mexican/American “cultural hybridity” tradition. And Sandra Cisneros is one of the most prominent figures in this post-modern movement with her much loved novel The House on Mango Street, her short stories, and her poetry, This engaging novel follows the life of Esperanza a 12 year old girl, living in Chicago, who straddles life between two cultures, Mexican and American. And much like Cisneros herself, she faces a life in poverty in a highly male driven patriarchal society. This book, originally written in English, has been translated into 20 languages and appeared on the New York Times Best Selling List. Cisneros, in addition to being a highly successful novelist, is also an accomplished poet whose poetry touches on both American and international racism regarding the misconceptions and stereotypes of the Mexican/American people, He says he likes Mexico, especially all that history. That’s what I understand although my French is not good. And wants to talk about U.S. Racism. It’s not often he meets Mexicans in the South of France. He remembers a Mexican Marlon Brando once on French tv. How in westerns, the Mexicans are always the bad guys, And- is it true all Mexicans carry knives? I laugh. Lucky for you I’m not carrying my knife today. He laughs too, I think the knife you carry is abstract. Cisnereos is a highly respected writer who has won such awards as the National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship and the Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship. She was born in Chicago on December 20, 1954 and currently lives in San Miguel de Allende.