Events

The Carleton College Art Gallery will kick-off its fall season with an exhibition showcasing fine art prints created by artists from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and Hawaii. Prints Around the Pacific Rim, running from September 17 to November 17, 2010, celebrates the varied method of printmakers, and highlights artistic exchange between cultures across the wide Pacific. Prints Around the Pacific Rim is also one of many fall events coinciding with the Mid America Print Council Conference, Old World/New World, taking place in the Twin Cities in mid-October.

Sandra Cisneros, award-winning novelist and poet, will give the weekly convocation at Carleton College on Friday, Oct. 8, at 10:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. Considered to be one of the most prominent contemporary Hispanic-American writers to achieve commercial success, Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for bringing the experiences and perspectives of Mexican-American women to the forefront of mainstream literature. Following her presentation, Cisneros will sign copies of her books, which will be available for purchase at the event. Celebrating Latino Heritage Month, Cisnero’s appearance is free and open to the public.

Growing up as the only daughter in a family of seven children that frequently moved back and forth between Mexico and the United States, Cisneros often experienced feelings of alienation and divided cultural loyalties. She took solace in writing poems and stories throughout her childhood and adolescence, before finding her literary voice while attending the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop in the 1970s. Drawing from her ethnic heritage and childhood experiences, Cisneros’ poetry and fiction capture the perspective of Hispanic individuals isolated from American culture, coupled with the social and cultural concerns of being a Latina author.