Author and Background Notes House on Mango Street Author and Background Notes

Sandra Cisneros Born December 20, 1954 in Chicago One of the first Hispanic-American writers who has achieved commercial success She has written novels, short stories, essays, and poetry

Education She received her B.A. from Loyola University in 1976 and her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1978

Teaching Has taught at the Latino Youth Alternative High School in Chicago and has been a college recruiter and counselor for minority students at Loyola University of Chicago

Guest Appearances Has been a guest professor at California State University, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Irvine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Displacement Frequently moved with her family between the United States and Mexico while growing up Often felt homeless and displaced as a result of these moves

Family Life Grew up as the only daughter among seven children, and was told by her brothers to fit into the traditional female role, thus causing her to base her writings on the strains of Latina women

Cisneros the Author “Cisneros had periodically written poems and stories while growing up, but it was the frustrations she encountered at the Writer's Workshop that inspired Cisneros' realization that her experiences as a Latina woman were unique and outside the realm of dominant American culture. Thus, Cisneros decided to write about conflicts directly related to her upbringing, including divided cultural loyalties, feelings of alienation, and degradation associated with poverty. These specific cultural and social concerns, coupled with Cisneros' feelings of alienation as a Latina writer, came to life five years later in The House on Mango Street (1983).” http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_sandra_cisneros.html

Other Works

House on Mango Street Format Vignettes: a short, usually descriptive, literary sketch In the book, the chapters are not “connected” like a “normal” book; each chapter discusses a new topic/event, but there is a central theme throughout the book. Overall, Cisneros writes about the main character, Esperanza, and her life living in the Latino section of Chicago, but each chapter shows Esperanza discussing a new idea.

References http://www.bestprices.com/cgi-bin/vlink/0679734775BT.html http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_sandra_cisneros.html http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0679742581.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg http://www.evolute.org/books/images/bk_cisnlg.gif http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/97/969/1600/Hollering%20creek.gif

References http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/mvm/netlinks/1cisneros7/cisneros.jpg http://www.familyhistorysites.com/books/authors/images/6984f.jpg http://www.schreiner.edu/newspaper/images/cisneros.jpg