Monday - Let me Tell You about Mora - Pat Mora

I have decided that every now and then I will feature one of my favorite authors and  interesting facts about them.  Pat Mora remains one of my favorite poets of all time.  Her words capture the Latina experience in a strong feminist manner.  

Señora X No More

Straight as a nun I sit.
My fingers foolish before paper and pen
hide in my palms. I hear the slow, accented echo
How are yu? I ahm fine. How are yu?
of the other women who clutch notebooks and blush
at their stiff lips resting
sounds that float graceful as
bubbles from their children's mouths.
My teacher bends over me, gently squeezes
my shoulders, the squeeze I give my sons,
hands louder than words.
She slides her arms around me:
a warm shawl, lifts my left arm
onto the cold, lined paper.
"Señora, don't let it slip away," she says
and opens the ugly, soap-wrinkled fingers of my right hand
with a pen like I pry open the lips of a stubborn grandchild.
My hand cramps around the thin hardness.
"Let it breathe," says this woman who knows
my hand and tongue knot, but she guides
and I dig the tip of my pen into that white.
I carve my crooked name, and again at night
until my hand and arm are sore,
I carve my crooked name,
my name.

Pat Mora

This poem touched me right to the core, reminded me of my abuelita because she never learned to read or write, and she signed with an "X."  You know, isn't it ironic that my abuelita never read or wrote? However, she was a driving force en mi exito.  She pushed me, she told me, all the time, to go for my dreams, do good in school, don't stop believing in myself.  Always with love and encouragement, she told me, "Elsie, vas a ser una profesora."    

I am thankful to have had a wonderful abuelita, pushing me forward con ganas siempre.  This morning at the college while I was preparing my reading lessons, one of my students approached me.  An older lady in her forties who knows too much English to be in ESL, but feels way more comfortable speaking in Spanish.  

"Todavia, tu eres mi profesora, verdad?"  Her words touched me and I smiled and nodded.  "Si, soy tu profesora.  Perdon, pero tenía una migraña en la semana pasada..."  I explained about the pinche migraine that kept me out sick from teaching on my 2nd day of class for the new session.  

Right now, I have been reading Pat Mora's poetry in Aunt Carmen's Book of Saints.  The book reads with different poems, but they all have some connection to life.  There are pictures of the saints and little stories about their courageous lives.  Of course, there is that Latino flavor which makes it all more interesting.  

I was really intrigued by the biographical excerpt I read about Pat Mora today.  She stopped teaching to either pursue a Ph. D or writing.  Interesting....she was admitting she was spending too much time grading papers.  Interesting... sounds like me ... yeppers, I write lesson plans, that's what I write.  Oh yeah, I blog by the way.  Occasionally I get the ganas to pour out some cuentitos of my own.  

I read about these awesome successful real-life authors, because they all inspire me in some small way.  Yes, I love teaching, it does inspire me and actually serves as a canvas for stories at many times.  I love writing equally though.  

I read about Pat Mora's struggles to publish children's literature; I had no idea! Here I thought, the public library here has several of her books, not a problem for Latino authors, pero yo estaba equivocada!

I agree with her though.  There needs to be more multi-cultural literature for children, not only children, but all people.  Hermanas, sabes que?  Necesitamos mas libros con apellidos como nosotras.  

Every woman, every mother, every aunt, every woman who is older then some other woman, SHARE! Share about our culture, all the little stories, dichos, recetas, lo que sea!  If we do not share, who is? 

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