Award Winning Author to Deliver Convocation Celebrating Latino Heritage Month at Carleton

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. 

Cisneros is the author of many books, including “The House on Mango Street” (Perfection Learning, 1984), “Caramelo” (Knopf, 2003), “Women Hollering Creek and Other Stories” (Random House, 1991), and “Loose Woman: Poems” (Knopf, 1994). Copies of her work are currently available at the Carleton College Bookstore.

Cisneros received her B.A. from Loyola University Chicago in 1976, before earning her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa’s Writers Workshop in 1978. In addition to writing, Cisneros taught at the Latino Youth Alternative High School in Chicago, and has worked as a college recruiter and counselor at her alma mater. She served as literature director for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, Texas, and has taught as a guest professor at a myriad of colleges and universities.

The Skinner Memorial Chapel is located on the Carleton College campus off First and College Streets in Northfield, Minnesota. For more information regarding the convocation, including disability accommodations, please contact Kerry Raadt in the Office of College Relations at (507) 222-4308. For more information on the booksigning, contact the Carleton Bookstore by telephone at (507) 222-4150.