Tell us about your family and upbringing.
I was born and raised in San Antonio's Southside, and I graduated from McCollum High School in 1996. Born into a very traditional family structure, I realized early on that I was going to have to step outside traditional roles if I wanted to achieve an education and security-emotional as well as financial. Of course, being a female, Chicana, and poor, I was too familiar with racism, sexism, classism, which we experience too often in our beloved city, but it's a conversation people are hesitant to have. My grandparents, all of whom picked cotton, told stories about this all the time. I began writing them down and realized as a very little girl, that some voices didn't make it past the kitchen table. This enraged me. It also intrigued me.
How did this impact your decision to pursue a career in your current industry?
That kind of silence which, again, I was already very familiar with, broke free when I wrote things down. No one could tear me away from my pen and-my grandpa likes to tell this story still-I wrote on everything: walls, paper, boxes, dirt. It seemed like the only thing that allowed me to be who I am. And while my work often went unread as a child, it was vital in helping me to discover who I wanted to be as an adult. When my work started to circulate and get published, all those unheard voices were finally being documented-mine included. I also began discovering so many similar voices and the kind of solidarity that creates change. I knew immediately there was nothing else in the world I wanted to do-I want to help create change by writing and helping others discover their own voices.
What made you choose PAC to start your undergraduate studies?
I wanted to remain loyal to my community. It's the same reason I wanted to teach here now, hope to teach here always.
Any early influences?
I could name a ton of poets & writers-Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Dickinson. But when I think of the one person who helped me decide I wanted to be a writer, I think of Dr. Irene Keller-my 9th grade English teacher (now my colleague at Palo Alto), who was the first person who said I was a poet. With that one phrase, she made me raise the expectation level for myself, she filled me with confidence, she acknowledged my voice, my history, and she set me on an unwavering path to rewrite a life that had already been prescribed. She is an amazing teacher, and I try to give this kind of support to my students now.
What made you gravitate towards receiving your degree?
I wanted to be taken seriously.
I was tired of feeling less-than.
Unfortunately, I have learned, educated Latinas have a long way to go-they often have to deal with issues of low expectation in the workplace and claims of becoming "whitened" at home. These are other conversations we need to have. I'm currently at work on an essay that explores the many sides of education for Latinas and am interested in talking with students & families & educators about this topic.
What university did you transfer to and why?
I transferred to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts from Palo Alto-it was the college I wanted to attend since I was 14, where, my young self thought, great poets were made. My husband and I had 2 children at the time I received my letter of acceptance in 2004. However, I deferred one year after learning I was pregnant with our third child. We left in 2005 (two kids plus newborn in-tow) and I graduated in 2008.
I received my Master's degree in poetry in 2011 from Drew University.
What are your career goals?
All I can ask for is the physical and financial space to keep writing and the means to keep my family healthy.
(A full-time position teaching writing at one of the Alamo colleges would be great, but our economy has put a very realistic halt on that.)
In the meantime, I hope to publish my second collection of poems, A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying. Palo Alto will be hosting Atta Girl Productions as they a stage a dramatic reading of this manuscript in April for National Poetry Month. I'm really excited about this! I am also currently at work on a collection of essays, Feeding the Warrior, an excerpt of which is forthcoming in Women Studies Quarterly.
I volunteer quite a bit-helping with events for Poetry Month all over the city and creating our own at Palo Alto. I LOVE teaching creative writing and am very happy to have the opportunity to do so-my students are FANTASTIC!
What advice would you like to give to current PAC students?
Believe in yourself.
Don't let others decide who you are or will be.
Write down your truth. Write your own history. If not, someone else will.
Take your education seriously, and remember that it is a privilege-one most of our grandparents or parents never had the chance to achieve.
www.LaurieGuerrero.com