“A woman who no one came for and no one chased away”

A look into the world of

Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago to Mexican-American parents

She is the first Hispanic-American writer to achieve commercial success

Cisneros is credited with bringing the Chicana (Mexican-American) female perspective into the mainstream

Her EducationCisneros attended Loyola University and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa

She found inspiration in Emily Dickinson, her favorite American poet, who was confined to her house, just as Cisneros felt confined to Chicago

Many years later, she realized that part of Dickinson’s success resulted from her education, a house of her own, and money.

Her ChildhoodEven though she had 6 brothers, Cisneros remembers her childhood as solitary, which proved important

Her family visited her grandparents in Mexico City often, making it difficult for Cisneros to make friends and succeed in school, and she often turned to literature for solace

Her family adopted a very traditional perspective and wanted Cisneros to become a “typical” woman and was disappointed when she left home before any of her brothers

About her Writings

Because of her unique childhood, Cisneros focuses her writing on that Latina perspective, incorporating not only her own experiences but the experiences of those around her

Many of her works are a medley of fiction and poetry

"If I were asked what it is I write about, I would have to say I write about those ghosts inside that haunt me, that will not let me sleep, of that which even memory does not like to mention."

The House on Mango StreetThe novel is told through the eyes of Esperanza- a poor, Latina adolescent who longs for a room of her own and a house of which she can be proud

Esperanza experiences “that slippery age when you are both child and woman and neither”—a shy girl who couldn’t come out of her shell

The story takes place in Chicago and describes the feeling of being isolated, poor, trapped, and stereotyped

HOMS was Cisneros’ first novel and received widespread critical acclaim

Other Works

•Caramelo (2002)

•Loose Woman: Poems (1994)

•Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991)

•My Wicked Wicked Ways (1987)

From the Author

“I like to think that somehow my family, my Mexicanness, my poverty all had something to do with shaping me into a writer”

“I’ve traveled [all over the world and] along the way there is straw for the taking. With a little imagination it can be spun into gold”