Ana Castillo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ana Castillo
Ana Castillo in New Mexico
Born	(1953-06-15) June 15, 1953 (age 72) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist poet essayist short story writer
Education	Jones Commercial High School Northeastern Illinois University (BS) University of Chicago (MA) University of Bremen
Literary movement	Xicanisma / Postmodernism
Notable works	So Far from God, Massacre of the Dreamers, Loverboys, The Guardians
Notable awards	Columbia Foundation's American Book Award (1987)

Ana Castillo (born June 15, 1953) is a well-known writer from the United States. She writes many different types of books. These include novels, poems, short stories, and essays. She is also an editor, playwright, and translator.

Ana Castillo is famous for writing about the Chicana experience. Chicana refers to women of Mexican descent living in the United States. She is known for her special writing style. She also helped create a type of Chicana feminism called Xicanisma.

Her books share strong and thoughtful ideas about society and politics. These ideas come from old stories and traditions. Castillo has always been interested in topics like race and gender. Her novel Sapogonia was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1990. Her book So Far from God also received this honor in 1993. She is also the editor of La Tolteca, a magazine about arts and literature.

Castillo has won many awards for her writing. These include the American Book Award in 1987. She also received a Carl Sandburg Award. She got a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1998, she won the Sor Juana Achievement Award.

Ana Castillo's Life and Work

Ana Castillo was born in Chicago in 1953. Her mother was Mexican Indian. Her father was born in Chicago in 1933. She went to Jones Commercial High School. She also attended Chicago City Colleges.

Education and Early Career

Castillo earned her Bachelor of Science degree in art. She also studied secondary education at Northeastern Illinois University. Later, she got her Master of Arts degree. This was in Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago in 1979. Before that, she taught ethnic studies. She was also a writer-in-residence for the Illinois Arts Council.

She taught at Malcolm X Junior College and Sonoma State College. In 1991, she earned her doctorate. This was in American Studies from the University of Bremen, Germany. For her doctorate, she submitted essays. These essays were later put into her 1994 book, Massacre of the Dreamers.

A Pioneer in Chicana Literature

Castillo has written over 15 books. She has also written many articles. She is seen as a very important writer. Many people think she helped start Chicana literature. She once said, "Twenty-five years after I started writing, I feel I still have a message to share."

Understanding Xicanisma

Castillo writes about Chicana feminism. She calls her ideas "Xicanisma." Her work focuses on identity, racism, and classism. She uses "Xicanisma" to show what it means to be a Chicana. It challenges simple ideas about the Chicana experience.

Castillo explains that Xicanisma is about understanding how we are all connected. It is rooted in our culture and history. She believes it can help everyone, not just Chicanas. She says it is about being whole, not divided. Men are not seen as opposites or enemies.

She also says that Chicana literature is part of U.S. literature. It shows the reality and views of women of Mexican or Latina background. Castillo believes Chicanas must fight many types of unfairness. This includes homophobia, racism, sexism, and classism. Chicana feminism must accept that there are many different Chicana experiences.

Her writing often uses magical realism. This is a style where magical things happen in a real world. Many of her works have been translated into Spanish. She has also written articles for newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and websites like Salon.

In 1999, she was nominated for "Greatest Chicagoans of the Century." This was sponsored by the Sun Times. Her writings and papers are kept at the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives. This is at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ana Castillo's Poetry

Ana Castillo has written several poetry books. Some of these include Otro Canto (1977) and Women Are Not Roses (1984). Her poems often explore the meaning of different life experiences.

Her poem, "Women Don't Riot," talks about the challenges women face. In this poem, Castillo bravely rejects the idea that she will stay quiet. She uses the lines to show her "offense, rejection" of that thought.

The Guardians

The Guardians is one of Castillo's most important books. She lives in New Mexico, near the border. This means she sees the political, social, and cultural issues there. The Guardians talks about the dangers faced by innocent people. These people are looking for a better life on "el otro lado" (the other side).

Castillo also explores what it means to be Mexican but live in the United States. The book highlights the cultural challenges people face.

Bibliography

Novels

• The Mixquiahuala Letters. Binghamton, N.Y. : Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingue, 1986. ISBN 0-916950-67-0
• Sapogonia: An anti-romance in 3/8 meter. Tempe, Arizona: Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1990. ISBN 0-916950-95-6
• So Far from God. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. ISBN 0-393-03490-9
• Peel My Love Like an Onion. New York: Doubleday, 1999. ISBN 0-385-49676-1
• My Daughter, My Son, the Eagle the Dove: An Aztec Chant. New York: Dutton Books, 2000. ISBN 0-525-45856-5
• Watercolor Women, Opaque Men : A Novel in Verse. Willimantic, Connecticut: Curbstone Press, 2005. ISBN 978-1-931896-20-7
• Give It to Me. New York: Feminist Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1-55861-850-3
• The Guardians. New York: Random House, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4000-6500-4

Story collections

• Loverboys. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. ISBN: 0-393-03959-5

Poetry

• Otro Canto. Chicago: Alternativa Publications, 1977.
• The Invitation. 1979
• Women Are Not Roses. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1984. ISBN: 0-934770-28-X
• My Father Was a Toltec and selected poems, 1973–1988. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995. ISBN: 0-393-03718-5
• I Ask the Impossible. New York: Anchor Books, 2000. ISBN: 0-385-72073-4
• "Women Don't Riot"
• "While I was Gone a War Began"

Non-fiction

• black dove: mamá, mi'jo, and me. New York City: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2016. ISBN: 9781558619234 (paperback)
• Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1994. ISBN: 0-8263-1554-2

Translations

• Esta puente, mi espalda: Voces de mujeres tercermundistas en los Estados Unidos (with Norma Alarcón). San Francisco: ism press, 1988. (Spanish adaptation of This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga.)

As editor

• Goddess of the Americas: Writings on the Virgin of Guadalupe / La Diosa de las Américas: Escritos Sobre la Virgen de Guadalupe (editor). New York: Riverhead Books, 1996. ISBN: 1-57322-029-9

See also

In Spanish: Ana Castillo para niños

• Xicana literature
• List of Mexican American writers