Welcome to the Internet School Library Media Center Gary
Soto page. You'll find biographical information, a bibliography, links,
lesson
plans and other information on Gary Soto, Mexican American [Hispanic]
author and poet. For other authors, visit Children & Young Adult Authors &
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[Biography]
[Author Visit Information]
[WWW
Resources]
[Bibliography of His Works]
[Literary Criticism]
[Unit/Lesson Plans]
[Related Materials]
[ERIC Resources]
Biography
It would seem that Gary Soto is an author true to his
Hispanic heritage and culture. He now has an official website at The Official Gary Soto Website. He
was born in Fresno, California,
of Mexican-American parents. His education includes a degree in English
from California State University at Fresno and a Master of Arts degree
in Fine Arts and Creative Writing. He has been a professor at the
University of California at Berkeley. He is an acclaimed poet,
essayist and fiction writer. You will find excellent biographical
material and a selected bibliography at Educational Paperback
Organization's Gary Soto
Page.
Gary Soto reminds me of Mark Twain who
also used his own boyhood experiences on which to base his many books
and characters. The Central Valley of California is central
to the action in many of Soto's books. The streets and neighborhoods of
Fresno, California, are an integral part of his writing.
He has said, "For me streets
have always mattered. I
conjure up inside my head an image of our old street in south Fresno."
The area
where he grew up was much like the barrios he writes about
complete with junkyards and big factories all around. In his
biographical essays for younger readers, such as Living Up the
Street he speaks of playing in
Little League and attending parochial school.
Soto also uses some of his own family members as characters in
his stories, like "El Shorty," [an uncle] in Boys at Work. He uses
the many memories from childhood to bring life to his short stories and
poetry. He tries in his work to regain the losses of childhood and
adolescence. Instead of "losing family, deep friends, a place in
childhood and finally ourselves," he recalls the blacktop streets he
faced, the fruits he would sometimes steal from a neighbor's garden, the
bicycle handbreak which became a summer's day toy for a bored five year
old. These memories and countless others form the core of his
writings. In his collection of poetry, Neighborhood Odes, he
relives playing in sprinklers and eating snow cones.
Although his stories deal with mostly economically
disadvantaged people, they never dwell on the negative but on the
problems, solutions and consequences which many Mexican American families
experienced. I have
not read a story yet that puts down or dwells on the stereotypical
Hispanic who would rather siesta than work. Rather Soto and other
Hispanic authors have highlighted the culture of a colorful, family
oriented people who know what it means to find work to help the family
survive. Since government statistics show that Hispanics are the second
fastest growing population in
the United States, we need more stories about the real
people and their culture so that the stereotypical "lazy Mexican" can once
and for all be dispelled.
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Author Visit Information
Author
Visit Kit. From Scholastic
Includes his mailing address
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Internet Resources
