Chicano Author to Visit BC
By: Bakersfield College
Topics: Gary Soto, Bakersfield College, Poetry, reading
Posted by amberc Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:52:46 PDT
Viewed 34 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305
Central Valley’s own Gary Soto will be visiting Bakersfield College on October 15 as part of the continuing Cerro Author Visit program. A poet and novelist native to Fresno, Soto has written books for adults, young adults, and children; his poetry and novels have great resonance for our community. Soto is a passionate advocate of community colleges and is excited to come to Bakersfield College.
According to the Gale Literature Resource Center, Soto is recognized as one of America's best Chicano writers. Incorporating his working-class background and Hispanic culture into his poetry and prose, he addresses such social issues as discrimination, violence, and poverty. Commentators maintain that Soto's ability to transcend solely personal and local concerns has established him as a major contemporary author. His many works include the widely popular novel Buried Onions and his Chicano culture-based poetry, such as One Kind of Faith.
A third-generation Mexican American, Soto was born in Fresno, and raised in the San Joaquin Valley where, as a child, he worked as a farm laborer. Attending Fresno City College, Soto initially majored in geography before transferring to Fresno State in the early 1970s.
Soto graduated magna cum laude in 1974 and earned a M.F.A. from the University of California at Irvine, publishing his first poetry collection, The Elements of San Joaquin, in 1977. He has since received numerous awards and fellowships: the Academy of Poets Prize in 1975, the United States Award from the International Poetry Forum in 1976, and the 1985 American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for Living up the Street: Narrative Recollections. A finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Award in 1979, he was also the first Chicano writer to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Gary Soto will give a presentation for the public at Bakersfield College’s Indoor Theater at 7 p.m. on October 15. Soto’s visit to Bakersfield College is made possible by a gift from the Dolores Cerro family endowment.
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