Center For The Study Of The Southwest To Host Scholarly Symposium Showcasing Renowned Writer’s Local Impact

SAN MARCOS, TX  — The Center for the Study of the Southwest at Texas State University is hosting an academic symposium on Sandra Cisneros’ San Antonio Circle 12:30 PM to 5 PM April 26 in Flowers Hall, Room 230. This event is free and open to the public.

Well-known writers, scholars, artists and performers will showcase internationally renowned writer Sandra Cisneros’ work. Presentations will include literary criticism, Chicano and feminist studies and art history.

The event will kickoff with a reading by poet Ada Limón, followed by a scholarly roundtable featuring scholars Dr. Norma Cantú, Norine R. and T. Frank Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Trinity University; Dr. Georgina Guzmán, Assistant Professor of English, California State University, Channel Islands; and Dr. Adriana Estill, Professor of American Studies and English Carleton College.

The event includes an original performance by Texas State University students Sarah and Lilith Tijerina. Texas State University graduate and undergraduate students will present research based on discoveries from the Sandra Cisneros Papers, held at the Wittliff Collections in Albert B. Alkek Library at Texas State University.

Their mission is to collect, preserve and share the artistic process that springs from the Southwestern imagination.

The symposium will close with an informal roundtable, featuring artist Joan Frederick, Michele Brinkley and Dr. Ellen Riójas Clark, who will share memories about San Antonio in the 80s and 90s and their experiences with Sandra Cisneros.

This is the second symposium held at Texas State University on Sandra Cisneros’ work and career; the first was held in April 2017.

The event coincides with a unique course dedicated to Cisneros’ writings taught by Dr. Geneva M. Gano, the Jesse H. and Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Southwestern Studies and Assistant Professor of English.

The event is co-sponsored by The Wittliff Collections at Alkek Library;The Department of English; The Department of Sociology and the Latina/o Studies Minor;The Department of Anthropology; The Department of Philosophy; The Department of Psychology;The Department of History; The Department of Political Science; The Department of Modern Languages; The Dept of Curriculum and Instruction; The College of Applied Arts; The College of Fine Arts and Communication; The College of Liberal Arts; The College of Education; The Center for Diversity and Gender Studies.

To commemorate Cisneros’ impact in Texas, Mayor Jane Hughson signed a proclamation 4 PM, April 15, at San Marcos City Hall, declaring April 26 as Sandra Cisneros Day.

According to her website, Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer, and artist whose work explores the lives of the working-class.

Her classic, coming-of-age novel, The House on Mango Street, has sold over six million copies, has been translated into over twenty languages, and is required reading in elementary, high school, and universities across the nation.  

In addition to her writing, Cisneros has fostered the careers of many aspiring and emerging writers through two non-profits she founded: the Macondo Foundation and the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation.

She is also the organizer of Los MacArturos, Latino MacArthur fellows who are community activists. Her literary papers are preserved in Texas at the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.