My grandmother took me to church on Sunday all day long, every Sunday into the night. Then Monday evening was the missionary meeting. Tuesday evening was usher board meeting. Wednesday evening was prayer meeting. Thursday evening was visit the sick. Friday evening was choir practice. I mean, and at all those gatherings, we sang.
Me
My mother never made me do anything for my brothers, like serve them. I think that’s an important lesson, especially for the Latino culture, because the women are expected to be the ones that serve and cook and whatever. Not in our family. Everybody was equal.
I’m very conscious that people dear to me are alive in my imagination – poets in particular.
God has blessed me with the capacity to meditate even while I am talking.
For me archaeology is not a source of illustrations for written texts, but an independent source of historical information, with no less value and importance, sometimes more importance, that the written sources.
To me, family is everything. I want children to realize how important their families are and what a support system a family is.
Now I think poetry will save nothing from oblivion, but I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it’s the home of the extraordinary, the only home.
There are books all around me… I don’t read as much as I used to, but I always have a book or two going.
It takes me three or four years to research and write each book and the individual stories stay with you for a long time afterwards.
At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.