GET TO KNOW AUTHOR SANDRA CISNEROS (MEXICO/US)

A citizen of both the United States and Mexico, she is currently living in San Miguel de Allende, working as a full-time writer, a single woman, with books instead of children. An author of poetry, short stories, novels and personal essays, Cisneros is best known for her seminal 1984 novel The House on Mango Street. We are thrilled to be a part of the 40th anniversary celebrations for this critically acclaimed book.

With millions of copies sold worldwide, it’s known as a coming-of-age classic and a staple novel in American schools. Cisneros became one of the first Latina authors to write books to mainstream publishing success featuring topics marked as taboo.

Her most recent book Woman Without Shame (2022) is a collection of poems, songs, elegies, and declarations covering a wide range of topics from aging, politics and sex. Marked as a ‘Best Book of the Year’ by Time and Goodreads, it features works blending Spanish and English. Marking Cisneros’ return to the world of poetry after 28 years. In acknowledgement of previous work she quotes “It seems the success of my fiction in my lifetime has overshadowed the fact that I was once a poet. I still am.” These “poems capture her solitude, erotic longings, and life in Mexico with rich language and sharp humor.” (The New Yorker)

Cisneros has won numerous awards over the years, including NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction. A MacArthur Fellowship, national and international book awards, the PEN America Literary Award, and the National Medal of Arts. In 2022, she was awarded the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and has spent time fostering the careers of many aspiring and emerging artists through two of her nonprofits: the Macondo Foundation and the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation.

We could not be more excited to have Sandra coming to the Festival this year, you can view her at four different sessions over the weekend; Glorious in her Skin: in conversation with Tayi Tibble, House on Fire, First Penned and Stay the Line.