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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The 25th anniversary of the publication of The House |
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on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is being celebrated on April 3, |
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2009, at the Central Library of the San Antonio Public Library |
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System; and |
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WHEREAS, Published by Arte Publico Press in 1984, The House |
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on Mango Street resists classification; at fewer than 115 pages, it |
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is the length of a novella, yet its division into many sections |
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suggests a collection of short stories, while its lyrical language |
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often reads more like verse than prose; ultimately, it is each of |
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these things at once; chapters can stand alone, but when read |
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together, they combine to give the long perspective of a novel; and |
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WHEREAS, The book is narrated by a young girl named Esperanza |
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whose family has bought their first home after years of moving; |
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although they had dreamed of a white house with trees and a big |
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yard, the house on Mango Street is instead "small and red" with |
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crumbling bricks, few trees, and no front yard; the book follows |
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Esperanza as she comes of age amid the rhythms of her new street, |
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negotiating both the pain and the beauty of her working-class |
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Latino culture; her insightful observations of neighbors, friends, |
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and loved ones reveal her own budding identity and explore themes of |
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individuality and community, escape and return, and romance and |
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gender inequality; and |
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WHEREAS, This beloved story was inspired by Ms. Cisneros's |
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own experience growing up in a Chicago barrio, where her family |
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finally bought a home after moving many times between Mexico and the |
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states; she wrote secretly as a child and was later encouraged to |
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join her high school's literary magazine, which she went on to serve |
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as editor; earning a bachelor's degree in English from Loyola |
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University in Chicago, she subsequently attended the prestigious |
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Iowa Writers' Workshop, and it was there that the nascent idea for |
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Mango Street took hold; and |
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WHEREAS, The year after it was published, The House on Mango |
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Street won the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and |
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Ms. Cisneros became the first Chicana writer to garner mainstream |
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attention; republished in 1989 by Vintage Books, a division of |
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Random House, the book has since become a mainstay on classroom |
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reading lists; moreover, it has sold more than two million copies |
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and been translated into languages the world over; and |
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WHEREAS, For a quarter of a century, readers everywhere have |
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been moved by the depth, insight, and richness of this |
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coming-of-age classic, and it is indeed fitting to pay tribute to |
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one of the most admired books of our time; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 25th anniversary of the |
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publication of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and |
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extend to Ms. Cisneros sincere best wishes for continued success; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Ms. Cisneros as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |