An Old Author is Now New

In my bookcase I have a book by Sandra Cisneros named Carmelo. I am sure I must have read it but when I picked it up and read the cover, it sounded like a brand-new book. The reason I picked up the book was because AARP Presents was having a live interview of the author on November 30, 2021. She is known for writing The House on Mango Street, (sold over 6 million copies) and is required reading in many schools. I was curious about who this writer is and signed up for the virtual interview.

She impressed me, not only by what she said, but how she looked. Braids, bangs, light blue oval glasses, and as she spoke, she threw in Spanish words. She appeared to have a good sense of humor because she laughed a lot during the interview! On the day of the interview, she mentioned, it was her anniversary for the day she finished writing The House of Mango Street in 1982.

Her latest book is Martita, I Remember You and she said that she has known many Martita's in her life and the story is a mixture of all of them. When asked why she has a professional translator for her stories, she said, "I know enough Spanish to have a conversation, to banter, but not enough vocabulary for certain words so that is why I hire a professional." Evidently, she does not use a lot of punctuation in her writing and it upset her when she was called illiterate by a reviewer. By not using punctuation she feels it brings the readers closer to the story as they try to figure out what is actually being said. "It's not illiterate, but poetic," is how she phrased it. 

Growing up she read many British writers and a lot of children's books. Her advice was to find a safe and comfortable place to read and not be interrupted. The same goes for when she is trying to write. She laughed when she told how her mother saw Isabel Allende's office and it was huge. "My mother insisted I should have a big office also and I got a large office to please my mother, but now I have downsized and am comfortable in my smaller office." She not only downsized her office but she does not have as many pets as she had in the past!

Her current work is collaborating in an adaptation of The House on Mango Street into an opera and working on a book of poetry. The forty-five-minute interview seemed too short for me, but as she said good-night she held up her small dog in a pink vest and had him wave good-bye. I liked her and now am planning to re-read Carmelo. I ordered both The House on Mango Street and Martita, I Remember You from the library and will binge on Sisnero's stories!

"I am obsessed with becoming a woman

 comfortable in her own skin."

Sandra Cisneros