In the poetry world, Lorna Dee Cervantes has gained much renown by her ability to draw inspiration from her identity as a female Chicano writer. Born on August 6, 1954 in San Francisco, she lived a humble life. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was an artist. Her parents finalized their divorce in 1959, prompting her, her brother, and mother to move in with her grandmother in San Jose, where she spent her childhood. Growing up, Cervantes’ mother discouraged her from speaking in Spanish, a likely attempt to accommodate her assimilation into mainstream American society. This suppression of her Spanish would later manifest and inspire Cervantes when she advanced her poetry career.
Lorna Dee Cervantes has always been fascinated with literature growing up. She was an avid reader of works by prominent figures like Shakespeare and Shelley. Gwendolyn Brooks and Maya Angelou's famous “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” strongly influence the nature and themes of her writing. At the young age of 15 years old, Cervantes had already composed her first collection of original poetry. This was a budding indication that the Chicana would pursue a career in expression through poetry. After graduating from high school, she attended San Jose State University where she finally obtained her BA in creative arts in 1984.
This Chicana poet’s voice was awakened in a particularly interesting frame within the Twentieth Century. It was during the 1960s that the Feminist Movement and Chicano Movement were progressing at a lively momentum. Being both a female and a Mexican American, it is unsurprising that Cervantes would be an active advocate for both movements. She began to use her poetry to comment on the state of society and to combat its injustices. In an interview with Jeanetta Calhoun Mish published in World Literature Today, she says, “I realized that my politics and my poetry could merge; suddenly it wasn’t just for me” (29). The ideals of equality, self-discovery, and acknowledgement by mainstream society that characterize the Chicano and Feminist movement are ones she infused in her poetry.
Lorna Dee Cervantes has published several poems and collections in her career that are critically acclaimed and acknowledged by the poetry community. Her first collection of poetry, Emplumada, was a huge success that propelled her to the status of an esteemed Chicana writer. In this collection, she chronicles the different stages in her life, ranging from her childhood and adolescence to adulthood. These poems are rich with personal experiences and are influenced by her status as a female and as a Mexican American. Many believe Emplumada to be a “threshold of a new phase for Chicano literature” (Gibson 139). Cervantes’ next collection, From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (1991), was another excellent addition to her repertoire. Not quite as commercially popular as Emplumada, this particular collection is noticeably heavier, which is likely attributed to the murder of her mother in 1982. Still, this served to empower Cervantes’ poetic voice and mature her writing with her increasing life experiences.
With her widespread recognition came the accolades to reflect Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poetic genius. Awards include the American Book Award, the NEA Fellowship award, and the Pushcart Prize. She offers a cultural element to the poetry world, infusing the struggles and beauty of being both a Mexican American and a woman.
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Facts about Lorna Dee Cervantes:
-Known for her "poetry activism", Cervantes once wrote and sold poems on demand to help a San Francisco schoolteacher afford a new place to live after his apartment burned down (Mish)
In 1974, Cervantes was involved in Teatro Chicano, which was Mexican American Guerilla Theater (Mish)
-Frustrated that poets were unable to publish their art, she founded her own press in 1976 (MANGO Publications), her own magazine, and became a printer (Mish)
-Not one to fall behind on the times, Cervantes has stayed active with the advent of social media. While director of a Creative Writing Program at UC Boulder, she attempt to recruit people for a graduate program by using Facebook. (Mish)
-Cervantes has frequently published poetry anonymously and strives to represent a "mestiza consciousness" (Mish)
-Cervantes wrote her first poem at age 8 (Gonzalez)
-In her teen years, she participated in several Civil Rights movements and cites Pablo Neruda as a large influence (Gonzalez).
-After the murder of her mother, Cervantes gave up writing and claims that she would "write in the dark, literally, because I did not want to read what I was writing" (Gonzalez)
-Although Cervantes developed a love for literature from her mother, who loved Poetry and Edgar Allen Poe, her mom's bitterness over not being able to finish high school caused her to punish Cervantes for reading. She has said that this was because her mother did not believe that poetry would get her anywhere (Gonzalez).
-Not only does she strongly identify with her Chicana heritage, but Cervantes is very proud of her Chumash ancestry as well. (Gonzalez).
Link to Lorna Dee Cervantes's blog:
http://lornadice.blogspot.com/
Lorna Dee Cervantes has always been fascinated with literature growing up. She was an avid reader of works by prominent figures like Shakespeare and Shelley. Gwendolyn Brooks and Maya Angelou's famous “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” strongly influence the nature and themes of her writing. At the young age of 15 years old, Cervantes had already composed her first collection of original poetry. This was a budding indication that the Chicana would pursue a career in expression through poetry. After graduating from high school, she attended San Jose State University where she finally obtained her BA in creative arts in 1984.
This Chicana poet’s voice was awakened in a particularly interesting frame within the Twentieth Century. It was during the 1960s that the Feminist Movement and Chicano Movement were progressing at a lively momentum. Being both a female and a Mexican American, it is unsurprising that Cervantes would be an active advocate for both movements. She began to use her poetry to comment on the state of society and to combat its injustices. In an interview with Jeanetta Calhoun Mish published in World Literature Today, she says, “I realized that my politics and my poetry could merge; suddenly it wasn’t just for me” (29). The ideals of equality, self-discovery, and acknowledgement by mainstream society that characterize the Chicano and Feminist movement are ones she infused in her poetry.
Lorna Dee Cervantes has published several poems and collections in her career that are critically acclaimed and acknowledged by the poetry community. Her first collection of poetry, Emplumada, was a huge success that propelled her to the status of an esteemed Chicana writer. In this collection, she chronicles the different stages in her life, ranging from her childhood and adolescence to adulthood. These poems are rich with personal experiences and are influenced by her status as a female and as a Mexican American. Many believe Emplumada to be a “threshold of a new phase for Chicano literature” (Gibson 139). Cervantes’ next collection, From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (1991), was another excellent addition to her repertoire. Not quite as commercially popular as Emplumada, this particular collection is noticeably heavier, which is likely attributed to the murder of her mother in 1982. Still, this served to empower Cervantes’ poetic voice and mature her writing with her increasing life experiences.
With her widespread recognition came the accolades to reflect Lorna Dee Cervantes’ poetic genius. Awards include the American Book Award, the NEA Fellowship award, and the Pushcart Prize. She offers a cultural element to the poetry world, infusing the struggles and beauty of being both a Mexican American and a woman.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Facts about Lorna Dee Cervantes:
-Known for her "poetry activism", Cervantes once wrote and sold poems on demand to help a San Francisco schoolteacher afford a new place to live after his apartment burned down (Mish)
In 1974, Cervantes was involved in Teatro Chicano, which was Mexican American Guerilla Theater (Mish)
-Frustrated that poets were unable to publish their art, she founded her own press in 1976 (MANGO Publications), her own magazine, and became a printer (Mish)
-Not one to fall behind on the times, Cervantes has stayed active with the advent of social media. While director of a Creative Writing Program at UC Boulder, she attempt to recruit people for a graduate program by using Facebook. (Mish)
-Cervantes has frequently published poetry anonymously and strives to represent a "mestiza consciousness" (Mish)
-Cervantes wrote her first poem at age 8 (Gonzalez)
-In her teen years, she participated in several Civil Rights movements and cites Pablo Neruda as a large influence (Gonzalez).
-After the murder of her mother, Cervantes gave up writing and claims that she would "write in the dark, literally, because I did not want to read what I was writing" (Gonzalez)
-Although Cervantes developed a love for literature from her mother, who loved Poetry and Edgar Allen Poe, her mom's bitterness over not being able to finish high school caused her to punish Cervantes for reading. She has said that this was because her mother did not believe that poetry would get her anywhere (Gonzalez).
-Not only does she strongly identify with her Chicana heritage, but Cervantes is very proud of her Chumash ancestry as well. (Gonzalez).
Link to Lorna Dee Cervantes's blog:
http://lornadice.blogspot.com/