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Gary Soto (born April 12, 1952) is an Mexican-American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
 and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
.

was born on April 12, 1952 and raised in Fresno, CA to working-class Mexican-American parents. He had an older brother named Jayon , and a younger sister named Debra. Soto lived in Fresno where he worked as a laborer. His inspirational poetry artists were:Thomas Berger
Thomas Berger

Thomas Berger may refer to:* Thomas Berger , American author* Thomas R. Berger , Canadian politician...
, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel Jos? de la Concordia Garc?a M?rquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garc?a M?rquez, familiarly known as "Gabo" in his native country, is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century....
, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean writer and politician Neftal? Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. Neruda assumed his pen name as a teenager, partly because it was in vogue, partly to hide his poetry from his father, a rigid man who wanted his son to have a "practical" occupation....
, Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers

Carson McCullers was an United States writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the U.S....
, Richard Russo
Richard Russo

File:Richard Russo.jpgRichard Russo is a Pulitzer Prize-winning United States novelist. Born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville, New York, he earned a Bachelor's degree , an Master of Fine Arts , and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Arizona....
, John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy

John Galsworthy Order of Merit was an England novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter....
, Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley

Walter Ellis Mosley is a prominent United States novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a African American private investigator and World War II veteran living in the Watts, Los Angeles, California neighborhood of L...
, Edward Fields, James Crumley
James Crumley

James Arthur Crumley was the author of violent hardboiled crime fiction and several volumes of short stories and essays, as well as published and unpublished screenplays....
, Richard Ford
Richard Ford

Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning United States novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land, and the short story collection Rock Springs , which contains several widely anthologized stories....
, Christopher Durang
Christopher Durang

Christopher Ferdinand Durang is an United States playwright known for works of outrageous and often Theatre of the Absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s....
, David Mamet
David Mamet

David Alan Mamet is an United Statesn author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity....
, H.E.






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Gary Soto (born April 12, 1952) is an Mexican-American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 author
Author

An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created....
 and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
.

Biography

Soto was born on April 12, 1952 and raised in Fresno, CA to working-class Mexican-American parents. He had an older brother named Jayon , and a younger sister named Debra. Soto lived in Fresno where he worked as a laborer. His inspirational poetry artists were:Thomas Berger
Thomas Berger

Thomas Berger may refer to:* Thomas Berger , American author* Thomas R. Berger , Canadian politician...
, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel Jos? de la Concordia Garc?a M?rquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garc?a M?rquez, familiarly known as "Gabo" in his native country, is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century....
, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean writer and politician Neftal? Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. Neruda assumed his pen name as a teenager, partly because it was in vogue, partly to hide his poetry from his father, a rigid man who wanted his son to have a "practical" occupation....
, Carson McCullers
Carson McCullers

Carson McCullers was an United States writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and two plays, as well as essays and some poetry. Her first novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter explores the spiritual isolation of misfits and outcasts of the U.S....
, Richard Russo
Richard Russo

File:Richard Russo.jpgRichard Russo is a Pulitzer Prize-winning United States novelist. Born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville, New York, he earned a Bachelor's degree , an Master of Fine Arts , and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Arizona....
, John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy

John Galsworthy Order of Merit was an England novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter....
, Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley

Walter Ellis Mosley is a prominent United States novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a African American private investigator and World War II veteran living in the Watts, Los Angeles, California neighborhood of L...
, Edward Fields, James Crumley
James Crumley

James Arthur Crumley was the author of violent hardboiled crime fiction and several volumes of short stories and essays, as well as published and unpublished screenplays....
, Richard Ford
Richard Ford

Richard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning United States novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land, and the short story collection Rock Springs , which contains several widely anthologized stories....
, Christopher Durang
Christopher Durang

Christopher Ferdinand Durang is an United States playwright known for works of outrageous and often Theatre of the Absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s....
, David Mamet
David Mamet

David Alan Mamet is an United Statesn author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity....
, H.E. Bates, A.R. Gurney, , Martín Espada
Martín Espada

Mart?n Espada is a poet and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts, where he teaches creative writing and Latino poetry....
, Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies

William Robertson Davies, Order of Canada, Royal Society of Canada, Royal Society of Literature was a Canada novelist, theatre, criticism, journalism, and professor....
, Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard

Elmore John Leonard, Jr. is a popular and acclaimed United States novelist and screenwriter.His earliest published novels in the 1950s were western fictions, and Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, several of which have been adapted into successful motion pictures or TV movies....
, and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
.

He had very bad grades throughout school, but became interested in poetry in high school and began writing poetry while he attended Fresno City College
Fresno City College

Fresno City College is a community college college in Fresno, California. Established in 1910, it was the first community college in California and the second in the nation....
. Soto moved on to California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno, commonly referred to as Fresno State, is one of the campuses of California State University, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, California, United States....
 for his undergraduate degree, and then to the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine is a public university coeducational research university founded in 1965, situated in Irvine, California....
, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts

In the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's degree level and usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, or theater/performing arts....
 degree in 1976.

His work earned him recognition in the semi_late 70's, when he won an Academy of American Poets
Academy of American Poets

The Academy of American Poets is the preeminent organization in the United States dedicated to the art of poetry....
 Prize. His first book of poems, The Elements of San Joaquin, which contains grim pictures of Mexican American life in California's Central Valley
California Central Valley

The Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California, United States. It is home to many of California's most productive agricultural efforts....
, was published in 1987
1987 in literature

The year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books....
. In 1985, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley is a public university research university located in Berkeley, California, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines....
, where he taught in both the English department and Chicano Studies department. He stopped teaching in 1994 to write full-time, but returned to teaching in 2003 with a post at University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside

The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public university research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system....
. His prolific output of poetry, memoirs, short stories, children's novels, plays, essays, and fiction continues and has earned him numerous prizes, including an American Book Award
American Book Award

The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American literature, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre....
 from the Before Columbus Foundation
Before Columbus Foundation

The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, Victor Hern?ndez Cruz, Shawn Wong and Rudolfo Anaya to be "a multi-ethnic organizing dedicated to promoting a pan-cultural view of America," especially through the promotion of multicultural writers....
 for "Living up the Street" (1985).

Bibliography


Poetry:
  • New and selected poems(Chronicle Books, 1995) National Book Award
    National Book Award

    The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the prior year, as well as lifetime achievement awards including the "Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award"....
     finalist
  • Canto Familiar/Familiar Song (1994)
  • Neighborhood Odes (1992)
  • Home Course in Religion (1991)
  • Who Will Know Us? (1990)
  • Black Hair (1985)
  • Where Sparrows Work Hard (1981)
  • The Tale of Sunlight (1978)
  • The Elements of San Joaquin (1977)


Novels:
  • Taking Sides
    Taking Sides

    Taking Sides is the name of two bands:*Taking Sides *Taking Sides Other uses:* Taking Sides , a play turned into a movie by Ronald Harwood...
     (1991)
  • Crazy Weekend (1994)
  • Jesse (1996)
  • Poetry Lover (University of New Mexico Press, 2001)
  • Nickel and Dime (2000)
  • Buried Onions(2003)
  • Baseball in April(2000)
  • Local News (2003)
  • The Afterlife (2005)
  • Accidental Love (2006)


Memoir:
  • Living Up the Street
    Living Up the Street

    Living up the Street is a book written by Gary Soto. It was published in 1985.The book is a collection of short story, recollections of growing up Chicano in Fresno, California....
     (1985), American Book Award
    American Book Award

    The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American literature, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre....


Plays:
  • Novio Boy: A play (2006)


Young Adult/Children's Books:
  • Summer On Wheels (1995)
  • 7th grade (1994)


Anthologies:
  • Pieces of Heart (1993)
  • California Childhood (1988)
  • Entrance: Four Latino Poets (1976).
  • Afterlife(1999)


Awards and honors


His honors include the Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a Scotland-born United States industrialist, List of business people, and a major philanthropist. He was an immigrant as a child with his parents....
 Medal, the United States Award of the International Poetry Forum, The Nation/"Discovery" Prize, and the Bess Hokin Prize
Poetry (magazine)

Poetry, published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English world. Edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately 90,000 submissions....
 and the Levinson Award
Poetry (magazine)

Poetry, published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English world. Edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately 90,000 submissions....
 from Poetry
Poetry (magazine)

Poetry, published in Chicago, Illinois since 1912, is one of the leading monthly poetry journals in the English world. Edited by Christian Wiman, the magazine has a circulation of 30,000 and prints 300 poems per year out of approximately 90,000 submissions....
. He has also received fellowships from the California Arts Council, the Guggenheim Foundation
Guggenheim Foundation

Guggenheim Foundation can refer to:*The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation funds the Guggenheim Museums.*The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards grants to scientists, scholars and artists....
, and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded and donation assisted program that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence....
. Currently, he is writing for Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing, which will be published in spring of 2008.

NEW AND SELECTED POEMS was a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. He has received the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award, the Discovery-The Nation Prize, the U.S. Award of the International Poetry Forum, The California Library Association's John and Patricia Beatty Award [twice], a Recogniton of Merit from the Claremont Graduate School for Baseball in April, the Silver Medal from The Commonwealth Club of California, and the Tomás Rivera Prize, in addition to fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (twice), and the California Arts Council. In 1999 he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. Princess of Howard

See also

  • List of Mexican American writers