40 years on, Sandra Cisneros says ‘Mango Street’ still speaks to her: ‘I know them so much better now’

Forty years after its publication, “The House on Mango Street” continues to speak to new generations with its themes of identity, culture and the broader search for belonging.

Sandra Cisneros’ groundbreaking novel introduces readers to Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Chicana growing up in a close-knit but poor Chicago neighborhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of her family and community’s economic limitations.

As Esperanza’s eyes open to her surroundings and the strength and vulnerability of the women in her life, she begins to forge a dream of one day leaving Mango Street.

Composed in a series of vignettes, the book been lauded for bringing Latin American life to the page with authenticity. Cisneros said she based the book off her own childhood in a series of Chicago houses.

“The House on Mango Street” has received numerous accolades, including the American Book Award, and has been a national bestseller. Earlier this year, Jenna Bush Hager selected the classic for her Read With Jenna book club.

After “The House on Mango Street,” the author continued to make significant contributions to literature, poetry, and efforts to push for women’s and Latino rights. She’s also published other notable such as “My Wicked Wicked Ways” in 1987 and the 2002 epic novel “Carmelo.”

To celebrate the book’s 40th year anniversary, TODAY.com interviewed Cisneros about the impact of the novel, which has continued to be a classroom staple.

Did you ever imagine ‘The House on Mango Street’ would be so influential decades later?

No, absolutely not. I felt very impotent when I was writing it. The book started as a way to uncensor myself, to talk about things I couldn’t address directly.

I was living through things I didn’t know how to write about, so I used an earlier version of myself to discover what I had to contribute to the world. I didn’t write it with any thoughts of fame or fortune. I wrote it to heal myself. I had no agenda of recognition — that was the last thing on my mind.

Did you have any similar works growing up that connected you to your cultural background?

No, I had nothing like “The House on Mango Street” growing up.  The only thing that I had was some very good teachers in high school who taught me college-level Latin American literature. We read Jorge Luis Borges and other great writers, and I’m grateful for that exposure. It wasn’t until later that I discovered Chicago writers like Carl Sandburg and Gwendolyn Brooks, who felt closer to my own experiences. Gwendolyn Brooks was a major influence, and she became a mentor to me later in life. I felt at home in her neighborhood on the page.

How has your relationship with Esperanza, the protagonist of the book, changed since you first wrote her?

The difference is as big as the Grand Canyon. I know them so much better now than I did when I was younger. I am just very surprised at how the characters still speak to me, how easily I can hear them, and how much better I knew them than when I wrote the book in my 20s. When I first started writing her, I was going through a lot in my 20s I couldn’t talk about directly. Since 2017, I’ve been working with Derek Bermel on an opera adaptation of the book. I just am very surprised at how the characters could still speak to me, how easily I could hear them, how much better I knew them than when I wrote the book in my 20s.

Are you excited to see your work come to life as an opera?

This has been such a great experience for me. I’m 69 and going on 70 in December, so it’s so wonderful to realize that every year, you have to learn whatever you thought you learned all over again. It’s like playing with Barbies again, reimagining the characters and story. I’ve been surprised by how well I still know the characters and how clearly they speak to me. I just have had such a blast, and I can’t wait to see it, but I can see it so clearly in my head. 

Derek Bermel sent me a suite of songs called “Mango Suite,” inspired by three vignettes from the book. He took the text, which is very lyrical, and made music out of it. When he proposed turning it into an opera, I thought, “This guy really gets me.” He added a whole new dimension, which excited me to revisit it after so many years.

I’m ready for the opera’s premiere. It was so moving when I heard the singers sing this past summer. I just felt such gratitude.

How old were you when you started writing ‘The House on Mango Street’?

I started the book in graduate school when I was 21 going on 22. I had started writing it at Iowa University but didn’t focus fully until I got the National Endowment for the Arts grant in ‘81. On the grant, I quit my job in ‘82, traveled to Cape Cod, then moved to Greece, where I camped on an island called Hydra and finished it on Nov. 30, 1982. I never forget that — it was my first book.

What was the most challenging part of writing the book, and how has your writing process changed since then?

The hardest part was balancing life with writing. Before the NEA grant, writing was always the last thing I did at the end of the day because I had to work to pay rent. I was never fully self-employed until that grant, which allowed me to focus entirely on writing.

What is your perspective on it the book now? Do you ever get tired about people wanting to discuss it with you?

It just means a lot to me. I love it, and I have so many copies of it. So few artists in their lifetime get testaments like I do. I never get tired of hearing that. Look at poor Van Gogh, right? I’m lucky I’m alive to hear that.

Would you tell us about your writing process?

It’s very different from when I was young. I just thought, “I’ll work. I’ll work at night so I don’t get distracted.” Now, I work after breakfast, and I don’t even make my bed if I’m writing. I permit myself to not worry about things like that. These days, I aim to write about 1,500 words a day. It’s so different from when I was young when I would work under a little architect lamp that was clamped onto my kitchen table. 

What advice would you give your younger self when writing ‘The House on Mango Street’?

For someone so young, I think I was very intuitive. I’m very surprised by what I was able to create and how much I was able to create. I never wrote it in linear form. I wrote small pieces and then shuffled them around, arranging them in a way that made sense. I’m pleased with what I did. I’m even more pleased with the new adaptation, which shapes and gives a little more background about some of the characters.

This post was originally published on this site