06: Sandra Cisneros on the power of words to shape our womanhood

“I tell people you don't have to say, ‘I'm just a drop in the bucket.’ Well, take care of your drop. Your drop affects so many other people and whenever you speak or are in contact with people, you're shaping and changing every day.”Sandra is a prolific poet, author, and artist, perhaps best known for her book The House on Mango Street, originally published in 1984, which has gone on to sell over six million copies and is required reading in schools across the world. Recently, Sandra published her first book of poetry in 28 years called Woman Without Shame, a brilliant collection of songs, elegies, and declarations. She has received a number of awards and honors including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships in poetry and prose. Sandra has also founded the Macondo Foundation, an association of socially engaged writers, and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, a grant-giving institution that served Texas writers for fifteen years.Join us for a conversation about the ways in which we all have a gift to give, how invested teachers can really change a life, taking darkness and transforming it into a path out, and being courageous enough to taking the next step.In this conversation you’ll find:* Being the only girl with six brothers* Her struggles in school to stay engaged and reign in her imagination* Growing up sensitive, and later realizing it was a gift* Writing in secret out of shame* The power dynamics and damage of an affair with a married professor* A 20 year “overnight” journey to success* Learning more from disasters than accolades* Having exactly what we need to make change* Not wasting our time in life This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shannonwatts.substack.com/subscribe