Laura J. Persun
Dr. Miranda
English 204: Creative Writing: Poetry
4 April 2011
Commentary on Writer Alex Espinoza’s Visit to Washington and Lee University
On April 4th, esteemed Chicano/a writer Alex Espinoza read excerpts from his novel Still Water Saints in Washington and Lee University’s Northern Auditorium. Additionally, Espinoza discussed at length the challenges that low-income minorities face when attempting to receive an education. Espinoza, the youngest of eleven children, grew up in La Puente, a Los Angeles suburb. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Riverside, and obtained a Master’s degree from the University of California at Irvine in 2004. He overcame the overwhelming constraints placed upon him by his family, socioeconomic level, and skin color. Espinoza remains to date the only member of his family to attend college. His brothers, he states, work in dangerous factories with the sad satisfaction that they have accomplished what was expected of them.
Espinoza’s novel Still Water Saints focuses not on lofty ideals and beautiful people, but takes place in a gritty, greasy Chicano/a town. The protagonist, Nancy, receives a marriage proposal in the gas station while her fingertips are coated in nacho cheese and her fiancé’s knees are soaked in grease. A van full of suited prisoners cheers as she happily accepts her lover’s offer to marry her. Though the setting has neither flowers nor red brick, there is an inherent beauty to its filth, likely due to Espinoza’s loving descriptions. Espinoza writes about what he knows best, inspired by other Chicano/a writers such as Sandra Cisneros. He reminds us that great literature, unlike its classic stereotype, need not be about beautiful Victorian women or Roman heroes. Great literature is simply about people, average people, who breathe and feel and love.
No comments:
Post a Comment