Author Interview: Jorge Argueta

"Everybody is capable of writing,

especially young children who are natural poets."

~Jorge Argueta

In honor of National Poetry Month, I am pleased to be able to share with you this interview with the talented Salvadoran poet and author, Jorge Argueta. He is a prolific writer and his poems have appeared in anthologies and textbooks. He has received many awards and is a San Francisco Library Poet Laureate.

In addition to his writing, Jorge has spent over 15 years presenting workshops, classroom visits and assemblies that successfully teach creative writing to students in elementary school all the way up to the college level.

We have featured several of his books on the LBBC, including:

• Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding: Un poema para cocinar/A Cooking Poem, which recently received the following awards and honors: the 2011 Tejas Star Book Award, a Northern California Book Awards finalist, the USBBY Outstanding International Books Honor List, and a 2010 Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Books. It was also the Libro del Mes here on the LBBC last October.

• A Movie in My Pillow/Una película en mi almohada, which received the following awards: the Américas Award for Latin American Literature, Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multicultural Literature, and the IPPY Award for Multicultural Fiction for Juveniles. It was also selected as a Libro del Mes last year in February.

Jorge has written many other family favorites. We are especially grateful to him for taking the time to share what motivates his writing....


You’ve attributed your love of words to your grandmother. Can you tell us a little more about her and how she molded your passion for writing and poetry?

My grandmother, Maria Luisa Perez, was a Pipil Nahua, Indian healer. In my hometown, Santo Domingo de Guzman, she was known as Mama Wicha or Mamita. She would talk to grandfather Fire, grandmother Water, she would talk to the mountains, the stars. She had great respect for our beloved Mother Earth. I listened to her stories with great love and admiration. She spoke our Indian language Nahuatl better than Spanish. Oral tradition was and continues to be a great influence in my life as a writer.


Several of your children’s books reflect the Latino immigration experience. How old were you when you came to America and what were the circumstances? How has the experience influenced your writing?

At the time I left, age 19, the war in El Salvador had escalated dramatically, and people were getting killed by military death squads. As a young student, I was in great danger. One morning I left not knowing I was going away for such a long time. 25 years passed after I was able to return to El Salvador. The war and the experience of fleeing marked my life forever. My writing is immensely influenced by this experience.


A Movie in My Pillow is the story of how a young boy who has recently immigrated to America views his new country. How much of your own experience is expressed in this book?

The book is about me as an immigrant young man. A Movie in My pillow, was the winner of the America’s Award, for Children and Young Adult Literature in 2001. After I received this award, I had the opportunity to travel around the United States doing presentations in different cities.

In some of the schools I visited, children and teachers have found very imaginative ways to illustrate the feelings they evoked from reading my book. Children memorized the poems and recited them, some had made pillows to illustrate the idea of dreaming with the country left behind. I learned that my experience was shared by thousands who left El Salvador under the same condition. My book was and continues to be used as a tool for children and young adults and families to cope with the experience of leaving one’s country for another.

Most of your books are poems for children. Is this because it is simply the style you prefer, or is there some other reason?

I write both, poetry and short stories. I believe in the use of images to describe very simple and complex events. I have found that niche in poetry. I believe everything can be said through poetry. I have great love for poetry, poetry is something I have practice since childhood. My short storybooks include: Zipitio, Xochiltl and The Flowers, Moony Luna, The Little Hen in The City, La Fiesta of the Tortillas, Alfredito Flies Home and The Best Match.


One major theme that runs through your books is the idea of family living in another country (i.e., El Salvador.) Why do you feel it is important for Latino children to learn their family’s heritage and traditions?

Our children must know their heritage and be proud of it. I write about our experiences because they are rich and because it is extremely important that our children know about our wonderful, amazing culture and traditions. The Latino/a population keeps on growing in North America. There should be more books published about our experiences.


When you write a book, what do you want the child who reads that book to get out of it?

I want children to know about the beauty or hardship of our realities and to feel proud of themselves. I want the reader to take a trip with me and live the experience of the character in the poems or stories. I want the reader to know that we come from a wonderful place called Latin America, and it is rich in culture and tradition.

Do you have any new books coming out soon that we can look forward to reading?

My next book, is entitled, Guacamole, A Cooking Poem. It will be published by Groundwood Books in Canada. This book is part of my ongoing series of Cooking Poems for Children. This books feature a young boy as a chef. Already published in the series are: Sopa de Frijoles, A Cooking Poem and Rice Pudding, A Cooking Poem.



To learn more about Jorge Argueta, or to book a workshop, please visit his website: www.JorgeArgueta.com