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Gary Soto

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749px-Gary Soto speaks at the 2001 National Book Festival

Gary Soto in 2001. Courtesy Library of Congress & Wikimedia Commons.

Gary Soto
Born Gary Anthony Soto
April 12, 1952 (1952-04-12) (age 72)
Fresno, California
Occupation Author, Poet
Nationality United States American
Ethnicity Mexican-American
Education MFA
Alma mater UC Irvine, CSU Fresno
Period 1977-present
Genres poetry, novels, memoirs, children's literature
Notable work(s) Petty Crimes
New and Selected Poems
Living Up the Street
Notable award(s) Academy of American Poets Prize
American Book Award
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Spouse(s) Carolyn Oda
Children 1

Gary Anthony Soto (born April 12, 1952) is a Chicano American poet and prose author.[1]

Life[]

Soto was born in Fresno, California,[1] to Mexican-American parents Manuel (1910-1957) and Angie Soto (1923-). In his youth, he worked in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley and in factories in Fresno.

Gary's father died in 1957, when he was just 5 years old. Because his family had to struggle to find work, he had little time or encouragement for school, hence, he was not a good student.[2] Yet Soto claims that in spite of his early academic record, he had begun his literary career by reading Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Jules Verne, Robert Frost and Thornton Wilder.[3]

He attended Fresno City College and California State University, Fresno, where he earned his B.A. degree in English in 1974,[3] studying with poet Philip Levine.[2] He did graduate work in poetry writing at the University of California, Irvine, where he earned an M.F.A. in 1976. He states that he wanted to become a writer in college after discovering novelist Gabriel García Márquez and contemporary poets Edward Field, W. S. Merwin, Charles Simic, James Wright and Pablo Neruda, whom he calls "the master of them all."[3]

Career[]

Soto's poetry focus on daily experiences,[2] often reflecting on his life as a Chicano. Regarding his relationship with the Mexican-American community, Soto has said:

"...as a writer, my duty is not to make people perfect, particularly Mexican Americans. I’m not a cheerleader. I’m one who provides portraits of people in the rush of life."[3]

Soto also writes novels, plays and memoirs, and has edited several literary anthologies. His story "The No-Guitar Blues" was made into a film,[3] and he produced another film based on his book "The Pool Party."[4] He is a prolific writer of children's books.[2]

Soto has taught at University of California, Berkeley[2] and at University of California, Riverside,[5] where he was a Distinguished Professor.[6]

Soto has devoted much time to being the Young People's Ambassador for the United Farm Workers of America, introducing young people to the organization's work and goals.[2]

Soto lives in northern California, dividing his time between Berkeley and Fresno, but he is no longer teaching.[4]

Soto became the sponsor for the Pattonville High School Spanish National Honor Society in 2009.[7]

Writing[]

About his work, Joyce Carol Oates has said: "Gary Soto's poems are fast, funny, heartening, and achingly believable, like Polaroid love letters, or snatches of music heard out of a passing car; patches of beauty like patches of sunlight; the very pulse of a life."[8]

Recognition[]

Soto's debut collection of poems,The Elements of San Joaquin, won the United States Award of the International Poetry Forum in 1976 prior to its publication in the Pitt Poetry Series in 1977. The New York Times Book Review also honored the book by reprinting 6 of the poems.

His second collection, The Tale of Sunlight (1978), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.[2]

In 1985, his memoir Living Up the Street received the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award.

In 1993, Soto received the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence from the Association for Library Service to Children for his production work on the film The Pool Party.[4]

In 1999, Soto received the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature,[9] the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes.[4]

Other honors include the "Discovery"/The Nation Prize, the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award from Poetry.[4] He has received The California Library Association's John and Patricia Beatty Award (twice), a Recogniton of Merit from the Claremont Graduate School for Baseball in April, the Silver Medal from the Commonwealth Club of California, and the Tomás Rivera Prize.

The library at Winchell Elementary School in Fresno was named after Soto.[3]

In 2010, the Old Administration Building at Fresno City College became the permanent home of the Gary Soto Literary Museum.

Publications[]

Poetry[]

  • The Level at Which the Sky Begins. Irvine, CA: University of California, 1976.
  • The Elements of San Joaquin. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977.
  • The Tale of Sunlight. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1978.
  • (With Ernesto Trejo) Como arbustos de Niebla. Mexico City: Editorial Latitudes, 1980.
  • Where Sparrows Work Hard. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1981.
  • Black Hair. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985.
  • Who Will Know Us? San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990.
  • Home Course in Religion. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1991.
  • Afternoon Memory. Lagniappe Press, 1994.
  • New and Selected Poems. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
  • The Sparrows Move South: Early Poems. Bancroft Library Press, 1995.
  • (With John Digby) Super-Eight Movies: Poems. Tuscaloosa, AL: Lagniappe Press, 1996.
  • Junior College: Poems. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1997.
  • Shadow of the Plum: Poems. San Diego, CA: Cedar Hill Publications, 2002.
  • One Kind of Faith. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003.
  • A Simple Plan. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007.

Plays[]

  • Novio Boy. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1997.
  • Nerdlandia. New York: Putnam, 1999.

Novels[]

  • Nickel and Dime. Albuguerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.
  • Poetry Lover. Albuguerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
  • Amnesia in a Republican County. Albuguerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.

Short fiction[]

  • Local News (short stories). San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1993.

Non-fiction[]

  • Living up the Street: Narrative recollections. San Francisco: Strawberry Hill, 1985.
  • Small Faces. Houston, TX: Arté Público, 1986.
  • Lesser Evils: Ten Quartets (memoirs and essays). Houston, TX: Arté Público, 1988.
  • A Summer Life (autobiography). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1990.
  • The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and short essays. New York: Persea, 2000.

Juvenile[]

Poems[]

  •  A Fire in My Hands. New York: Scholastic, 1990
    • revised & expanded edition, Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2006.
  • Worlds Apart: Traveling with Fernie and me (poems; illustrated by Greg Clarke). New York: Putnam, 2005.
  • Partly Cloudy: Poems of love and longing. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 2009.

Stories[]

  •  Heaven (with Michael Peich). Aralia Press, 1970.
  • Father Is a Pillow Tied to a Broom. Pittsburgh, PA, 1980.
  • The Cat's Meow (illustrated by wife, Carolyn Soto). San Francisco, CA: Strawberry Hill, 1987; New York: Scholastic, 1995.
  • Baseball in April, and other stories. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1990.
  • Taking Sides. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1991.  
  • Pacific Crossing. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1992.
  • The Skirt. New York: Delacorte, 1992.
  • Too Many Tamales (picture book). New York: Putnam, 1992.
  • Neighborhood Odes. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1992.
  • The Pool Party. new York: Delacorte, 1993.
  • Crazy Weekend. New York: Scholastic, 1994.
  • Jesse. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1994.
  • Boys at Work. New York: Delacorte, 1995.
  • Chato's Kitchen. New York: Putnam, 1995.
  • Summer on Wheels. New York: Scholastic, 1995.
  • The Mustache (with Celina Hinojosa). New York: Putnam, 1995.
  • Canto Familiar/Familiar Song. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1995.
  • The Old Man and His Door. New York: Putnam, 1996.
  • Snapshots of the Wedding. New York: Putnam, 1996.
  • Tomando partido, Fondo de Cultura Economica. Mexico City, 1996.
  • Off and Running (illustrated by Eric Velasquez). New York: Delacorte, 1996.
  • Buried Onions. SanDiego, CA: Harcourt, 1997.
  • Petty Crimes. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 1998.
  • Big Bushy Mustache. New York: Knopf, 1998.
  • Chato and the Party Animals (illustrated by Susan Guevara). New York: Putnam, 1999.
  • A Natural Man. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1999.
  • Jessie de la Cruz: Profile of a United Farm Worker. New York: Persea, 2000.
  • 100 Parades (with Molly Fisk). California Poets in the Schools, 2000.
  • If the Shoe Fits (illustrated by Terry Widener). New York: Putnam, 2002.
  • Fearless Fernie: Hanging out with Fernie and Me (poems; illustrated by Regan Dunnick). New York: Putnam, 2002.
  • Cesar Chavez: A hero for everyone (illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter). New York: Aladdin, 2003.
  • Marisol. Middleton, WI: Pleasant Company, 2005.
  • Help Wanted: Stories. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2005.
  • Chato Goes Cruisin' (illustrated by Susan Guevara). New York: Putnam, 2005.
  • My Little Car = Mi carrito (illustrated by Pam Paparone). New York: Putnam, 2006.

Young adult[]

  • The Afterlife. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2003.
  • Jesse. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2006.
  • Accidental Love. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2006.
  • Mercy on These Teenage Chimps. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2007.

Edited[]

  • California Childhood: Recollections and stories of the golden state. Berkeley, CA: Creative Arts Book Company, 1988.
  • Pieces of the Heart: New Chicano fiction. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1993.
  • Everyday Seductions. Sea Bright, NJ: Ploughshare Press, 1995.


Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.[10]

Audio / video[]

Oranges_By_Gary_Soto,_Lego_Version

Oranges By Gary Soto, Lego Version

Films[]

  • The Bike. Gary Soto Productions, 1991.[10]
  • The Pool Party. Gary Soto Productions, 1993.[10]
  • Novio Boy (based on Soto's play). Gary Soto Productions, 1994.[10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gary Soto, Poets.org, Academy of American Poets. Web, Nov. 29, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Gary Soto at NotableBiographies.com, accessed 28 August 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Soto's FAQ page
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Soto's online biography
  5. ↑ University of California news item, 12 June 2001, accessed 28 August 2009.
  6. ↑ University of California news item, 30 January 2002, accessed 28 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Pattonville School District website news, accessed 23 February 2010
  8. ↑ Amazon reviews, accessed 24 November 2009.
  9. ↑ "Hispanic Heritage Awards for Literature". Hispanic Heritage Foundation. http://www.hispanicheritage.org/hispanic_search.php?name=&opt2=10&opt3=0&x=6&y=10. Retrieved 11 January 2011. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Gary Soto b. 1952, Poetry Foundation. Web, Dec. 6, 2012.

External links[]

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Audio / video
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