Sandra Cisneros

American writer and poet · United States · On the map · Writers · Born 1954 · age 71

Sandra Cisneros is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, The House on Mango Street (1984), and her subsequent short story collection, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991).

Sandra Cisneros is read about 328 times a day, in 30 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2024Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement AwardAward2022Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAwardRuth Lilly Poetry PrizeAward2021“Books are medicine. What heals me may not be the right prescription for anyone else.”In their wordsinterview (2021)Read the whole statement

“For me the great shame and dolor of our times is the story of immigrant children.”In their wordsinterview (2021)Read the whole statement

“I would never want to offend any writer by publicly admitting which books I’ve put down; it’s not the writer’s fault we didn’t click.”In their wordsinterview (2021)Read the whole statement

2018“I like living in a town not dominated by cars. I like living in a small community where artists from around the world come and go.”In their wordsOn what inspired her essay collection A House of My Own in “Interview with Sandra Cisneros” in Latino Book Review (2018 Oct 1)Read the whole statement

2009“I don’t take it personally. It has nothing to do with me, or with my book.”In their wordsOn The House of Mango Street being included in many school curriculums (Chicago Public Library; Spring 2009)Read the whole statement

2002“It’s memorable because it makes you either laugh or cry. If a story’s really good, it does both.”In their wordsOn the cyclical nature of stories in “Interview with Sandra Cisneros” in The Missouri Review (2002 Mar 1)Read the whole statement

1995MacArthur Fellows ProgramAward1993Anisfield-Wolf Book AwardsAward1985American Book AwardsAward1954Born20 December 1954

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

Photos 2

Cisneros in 2017

In their own words 4

Sandra Cisneros

4 statements, newest first

It’s important that young people find the right books that speak to them at the right time, otherwise you might be encouraging them to dislike reading.
2021 · interview (2021), Own words
(What moves you most in a work of literature?) I’m not yet the writer I aspire to be, but at my age, great books written by women over 60 give me hope.
2021 · interview (2021), Own words
I think we are all gifted as children, but we aren’t gifted with the same gifts. In crowded, poor schools, an overwhelmed teacher can’t always help us discover what our gifts are.
2018 · On how her mother influenced her future creative direction in “Interview with Sandra Cisneros” in Latino Book Review (2018 Oct 1), Own words

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Awards

Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award2024

Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences2022

Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize2022

MacArthur Fellows Program1995

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards1993

American Book Awards1985

National Medal of Arts

About this person

Her work includes experimentation with emerging subject positions, which Cisneros attributes to growing up in a context of cultural hybridity and economic inequality that endowed her with unique stories to tell. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, was awarded one of 25 new Ford Foundation Art of Change fellowships in 2017, and is regarded as a key figure in Chicano literature.

Country

United States