Judith Ortiz Cofer in 2006. Photo by National Endowment for the Arts. Courtesy Wikipedia
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| Judith Ortiz Cofer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 24, 1952 Hormigueros, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Genres | Poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, Young Adult novels |
| Notable work(s) | A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood |
Judith Ortiz Cofer (born February 24, 1952) is a Puerto Rican-born American poet and prose author. Her work spans a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young-adult fiction.
Life[]
Cofer was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico on February 24, 1952.[1] She moved to Paterson, New Jersey with her family in 1956. They often made back-and-forth trips between Paterson and Hormigueros. In 1967, her family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where she attended Butler High School. Cofer received a B.A. in English from Augusta College, and later an M.A. in English from Florida Atlantic University.[2]
Among Cofer's more well known essays are "The Story of My Body" and "The Myth of the Latin Woman," both reprinted in The Latin Deli.
In 1984, Cofer joined the faculty of the University of Georgia, where she is currently Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing.
Writing[]
Much of Cofer's work can be classified as creative non-fiction. Her narrative is strongly influenced by oral storytelling, which was inspired by her grandmother, an able storyteller in the tradition of teaching through storytelling among Puerto Rican women. Cofer's autobiographical work often focuses on her attempts at negotiating her life between 2 cultures, American and Puerto Rican, and how this process informs her sensibilities as a writer. Her work also explores such subjects as racism and sexism in American culture, machismo and female empowerment in Puerto Rican culture, and the challenges diasporic immigrants face in a new culture.[2]
Recognition[]
In April 2010, Ortiz Cofer was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.[3]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Peregrina. Golden, CO: Riverstone Press, 1986.
- Terms of Survival: Poems. Houston, TX: Arte Publico, 1987.
- Reaching for the Mainland: Selected new poems. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press / Editorial Bilingüe, 1995.
- A Love Story Beginning in Spanish: Poems. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005.
Novels[]
- The Line of the Sun. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1989.
- The Meaning of Consuelo. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1993.
- Call Me Maria: A novel. New York: Orchard Books, 2004.
Short fiction[]
- An Island Like You: Stories of the barrio. New York: Orchard Books, 1995.
Non-fiction[]
- Silent Dancing: A partial remembrance of a Puerto Rican childhood. Houston, TX: Arte Publico, 1990.
- Sleeping with One Eye Open: Women writers and the art of survival. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1999.
- Woman in Front of the Sun: On becoming a writer. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2000.
Juvenile[]
- The Year of our Revolution: New and selected stories and poems. Houston, TX: Pinata Books, 1998.
- Riding Low on the Streets of Gold. Houston, TX: Pinata Books, 2003.
- A bailar! Let's Dance! (illustrated by Christina Rodriguez). Houston, TX: Pinata Books / Arte Publico, 2011.
- If I Could Fly. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Geroux, 2011.
- The Poet Upstairs (illustrated by Oscar Ortiz). Houston, TX: Pinata Books, 2012.
- Animal Jamboree: Latino folk-tales (illustrated by Natalia Rosales-Yeomans, Ted Dawson, & Giovanni Mora). Houston, TX: Pinata Books / Arte Publico, 2012.
Collected editions[]
- The Latin Deli: Prose and poetry. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1993.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[4]
See also[]
The Changeling by Judith Ortiz Cofer
References[]
- ↑ Honoree - Georgia Writers Hall of Fame
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Judith Ortiz Cofer
- ↑ "Writers hall picks four inductees". Online Athens (Athens Banner Herald). September 19, 2009. http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/091909/uga_494743547.shtml. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
- ↑ Search results = au:Judith Ortiz Cofer, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 7, 2014.
External links[]
- Poems
- Judith Ortiz Cofer profile and poem at the Academy of American Poets
- Judith Ortiz Cofer b. 1952 at the Poetry Foundation
- Poems
- Prose
- "Catch the Moon" (short story)
- Audio / video
- Books
- Judith Ortiz Cofer at Amazon.com
- About
- Judith Ortiz Cofer in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- Judith Ortiz Cofer in Contemporary Hispanic Biography
- An interview with Judith Ortiz Cofer, AWP Chronicle, 1997 (.PDF)
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