I try to be as honest about what I see and to speak rather than be silent, especially if it means I can save lives, or serve humanity. Sandra Cisneros
I usually say Latina, Mexican-American or American Mexican, and in certain contexts, Chicana, depending on whether my audience understands the term or not. Sandra Cisneros
I am a woman, and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. Those are the things that give my writing power. Sandra Cisneros
There are many Latino writers as talented as I am, but because we are published through small presses, our books don't count. We are still the illegal aliens of the literary world. Sandra Cisneros
I always tell people that I became a writer not because I went to school but because my mother took me to the library. I wanted to become a writer so I could see my name in the card catalog. Sandra Cisneros
I was silent as a child, and silenced as a young woman; I am taking my lumps and bumps for being a big mouth, now, but usually from those whose opinion I don't respect. Sandra Cisneros
I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from what I earned from my writing. My day jobs were what mattered, and it was hard to even get those because universities wouldn't hire me as a real writer. Sandra Cisneros
I've always read broadly: literary fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, chick lit, historical, dystopian, nonfiction, memoir. I've even read Westerns. I prefer female protagonists. Sandra Cisneros
I have to understand what my strengths and limitations are, and work from a true place. I try to do this as best I can while still protecting my writer self, which more than ever needs privacy. Sandra Cisneros
My feminism is humanism, with the weakest being those who I represent, and that includes many beings and life forms, including some men. Sandra Cisneros
My father always defined my gender to my brothers. He'd say, 'This is your sister; you must take care of her.' Sandra Cisneros
I was a terrible student. Still, I managed to get into college, but my daydreaming threatened to sabotage me. I used behavior modification to break the cycle. I started by setting an arbitrary time limit on studying: for every 15 minutes of study, I'd allow myself an hour of daydreaming. I set the alarm. Sandra Cisneros
I realize that when I moved out of my father's house I shocked and frightened him because I needed a room of my own, a space of my own to reinvent myself. Sandra Cisneros
My father never wanted me to be a writer. He didn't - he came to terms with it maybe two years before he died. He wanted me to be a weather girl because when I was growing up, there were very few Latinas on television, and in the early '70s when you first started seeing Latinas on TV, they would be the weather girls. Sandra Cisneros
Generally if you're a daughter in a Mexican family, no one wants to tell you anything; they tell you the healthy lies about your family. Sandra Cisneros
One press account said I was an overnight success. I thought that was the longest night I've ever spent. Sandra Cisneros