Sandra Cisneros

About Sandra's Work

Sandra Cisneros is a novelist, a poet, a short story writer, and an essayist whose work gives voice to working-class Latino and Latina life in America.

Her lyrical, realistic work blends aspects of “high” and popular culture.  Her novel, The House on Mango Street (1983), takes the form of a series of vignettes told from the perspective of a young girl growing up in Chicago.  Cisneros’ subsequent novel, Caramelo (2002), tells the story of four generations of a Mexican American family, moving back and forth in time and between locations from Chicago to Mexico City.

Biography

Cisneros’ additional works of fiction include Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991) and a children’s book, Hairs/Pelitos (1994).  She is the author of three volumes of poetry: Bad Boys (1980), My Wicked, Wicked Ways (1987), and Loose Woman (1994).  Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages.  She has been a visiting professor at a number of universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, and has worked as an arts administrator, a college recruiter, and a teacher and counselor for high school dropouts.

Cisneros received a B.A. (1976) from Loyola University in Chicago and an M.F.A. (1978) from the University of Iowa.

Last updated January 1, 2005