Gary soto biography lesson
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Through bargaining agreements, contract negotiations, and other tactics, its members work to improve the wages and working conditions for all agricultural workers in America. In 1977, with master's degree in hand, Soto began teaching Chicano studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Although both of his parents were American born, their Mexican heritage remained a vital influence in their home.
United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO Web site. On the other hand, several of Soto's novels are hard-hitting, with characters facing some very tough issues. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
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Gary Soto Biography
April 12, 1952 • Fresno, California
Author
64. His parents were Mexican-American. He no longer teaches, focusing fully on his writing.
Gary Soto's Amazing Books
Gary Soto's poems and stories often share what daily life is like for Mexican Americans. This means that the battle continues, carried on by the next generation. For young Gary, survival took precedence over any dreams of writing.
As Gary and his siblings grew older they, too, worked in the fields and factories of Fresno. "Interview with Gary Soto." (May 7, 2003) Quill Web site http://mpnet.esuhsd.org/quill2003/132.pdf (accessed on August 10, 2004). His story "The No-Guitar Blues" became a movie. When he was nineteen and in his second year at Fresno College, the young student discovered a collection of contemporary poetry.
"Gary Soto Biography." Scholastic Books: Author Studies Homepage. Their first combined effort involved organizing Chicano and Filipino workers in the California grape-picker strike of 1965–66. Reproduced by permission.
As Chuy's ghostly body begins to disappear, he realizes that his life, no matter how brief, was worth living. As a child, Gary worked in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley to help his family.
Discovering a Love for Reading
When Gary was in high school, he found a new interest: poetry! Soto claimed, in his BookList biography, that he began writing for children because he wanted to "start Chicanos reading." He also wanted to remedy the fact that there were very few books available to young people that featured Mexican Americans.
In Taking Sides (1991), for example, eighth-grader Lincoln Mendoza moves from his inner-city neighborhood to a suburb of Fresno that is predominantly Anglo, or white; as a result his loyalties for his old friends are challenged. He continued to publish books for both adults and children, and when not pursuing other interests such as reading, traveling, or gardening, he was at his desk writing for at least four to five hours per day.