Sandra Cisneros

## **Biography**

Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago. She is the third child out of seven, and the only daughter to her Mexican parents. Cisneros and her family moved often between Mexico and the United States, until residing in the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago. The neighborhood influenced much of the material for *The House on Mango Street*, one of Cisneros' most known and admired novels.

Cisneros attended St. Josephinum high school in Chicago, and this is where she expanded on her poetry and creative writing. A teacher of hers encouraged Cisneros to pursue and share her poetry. She worked on a literary magazine for her high school, and eventually became and editor. Cisneros majored in English at Loyal University and earned her M.F.A in creative writing from the University of Iowa. [1]

She describes herself as a poet, short story writer, and artist and has worked as a teacher, counselor, college recruiter, arts administrator, and visiting writer. [2]

## **Themes and Issues**

Identity is a strong theme integrated in Cisneros' writing. The multiple facets of identity are explored and questioned through the protagonists in her novels, and references in poetry. Cisneros questions traditional Mexican gender roles through the struggles of female characters in her work. Through character development, the concepts of women empowerment and liberation are strongly implied. The symbol of female hips changes meaning through life events, at times eluding to sexual curiosity, making a commentary of women as mothers, and the trauma of being perceived to be *too* sensual. Through descriptions of unwanted and cruel encounters with men and women who do not speak up or allow certain treatment, readers are informed of the feminist Latina identity. [3]

Cultural identity is a crucial element in her writing, with characters mimicking Cisneros' experiences and thoughts about both being a part of a community but feeling out of place. In her novels, the characters often move between borders, and trees and neighborhoods are symbolic of the writer's American and Mexican roots.

## **Writing Style**

Cisneros has written academic journals and essays, but is known and praised for her poetry and collections of short stories. She utilizes her bilingualism in her writing to convey the concept of borders symbolically and in reality. She often includes Spanish phrases and code-switches to hint at the duality of being Mexican-American; a common element in the characters of her work. In "Border Fictions: Globalization, Empire, and Writing at the Boundaries of the United States" Sadowski-Smith explains,

> "...critical evaluations of work by perhaps the most famous Chicana writer, Sandra Cisneros, as an instance of border literature exemplify how the conflation of the border space with issues of Chicana/o identity and formal experimentation divorces and at times fictionalizes the narrator's borders crossing...*Caramelo* predominantly performs the narrator's search for her Mexican roots."
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Bilingualism is also used to show how Chicanos struggle with their cultural and heritage, gender, sexuality, and socio-economic identities. At the same time, Cisneros uses allusions of popular figures such as *La Virgen de Guadalupe* in her short stories and vignettes, as seen in her most popular novels, to aid feminist commentary in the Latino community.

## **Bibliography**

* *Bad Boys* published in 1980
* *The House on Mango Street* published in 1984
* *My Wicked Wicked Ways* published in 1987
* *Woman Hollering Creek* published in 1991
* *Loose Woman* published in 1994
* *Hairs/Pelitos* published in 1994
* *Caramelo* published in 2002
* *Vintage Cisneros* published in 2004
* *Have You Seen Marie?* published in 2012
* *Bravo Bruno!* published in 2014
* *A House of My Own: Stories from My Life* published in 2015
* *Puro Amor* published in 2018

## **Criticism**

Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for her contributions to Chicano literature, and is often referred to as one of the most well-known Chicana authors. She wrote *The House on Mango Street* through a self-proclaimed "anti-academic" voice. [4] This allowed for discourse in the literary canon, and to broaden ideas on the various perspectives of multiculturalism. Cisneros redefines prominent figures in the Latin America to remove the negative connotation on women. In her work, Cisneros counters 'machismo' to reinvent traditional female roles to be more open and inviting than isolated to passive traits and treatment of women.

## **Foundations**

Cisneros founded two non-profit organizations to help the prospective careers of new writers from diverse backgrounds. The first foundation, the Macondo Foundation, was founded in 1995 and is currently active. Its goal is to engage and support writers, artists, people who had roles in academia, and activists to create work that criticizes social issues and other borders.[5] Members work to think deeply about societal issues and inspire non-violent change. The Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation was active for almost two decades.

## **Notable Awards**

Sandra Cisneros has won numerous awards and honorary doctorates throughout her writing career. In 1981 she received NEA fellowships, which gave her the opportunity to travel and write *The House on Mango Street*. *Caramelo*, Cisneros highly anticipated second novel, had glowing reviews from journals like the New York Times and won the 2005 Premio Napoli award. In 2016, the National Medal of the Arts was awarded to her by President Obama.[6]

## **References**

1. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sandra-cisneros
2. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sandra-cisneros
3. https://www.chipublib.org/sandra-cisneros-biography/
4. Sadowski-Smith, Claudia. Border Fictions: Globalization, Empire, and Writing at the Boundaries of the United States. United Kingdom, University of Virginia Press, 2008.
5. https://www.sandracisneros.com/books
6. https://www.sandracisneros.com/mylifeandwork
7. https://www.modernamericanpoetry.org/content/jane-juffer-sandra-cisneros-career