Gloria Velásquez
Gloria Velásquez is an award-winning writer of poetry and fiction who graduated from Stanford University in 1985 with a PH.D. in Latin American and Chicano Literatures. She is the author of the Roosevelt High School series of books for young adults, which features a multiracial group of teenaged students who must individually face social and cultural issues (such as violence, sexuality, prejudice and inter-racial dating) inescapable among young adults today. The books in the series are: Book One, Juanita Fights the School Board (1994); Book Two, Maya's Divided World, (1995); Book Three, Tommy Stands Alone (1995); Book Four, Rina's Family Secret (1998); and Book Five, Ankiza's Rainbow (2000). She is also the author of a first collection of poetry, I Used to Be a Superwoman (1997).
Velásquez has received various awards for her poetry and fiction. In 1985, she was the recipient of the 11th Chicano Literary Prize in the Short Story from the University of California at Irvine; and in 1979, Velásquez was awarded the Premier and Deuxieme Prix in poetry from the Dept. Of French & Italian at Stanford University. Velásquez became the first Chicana to be inducted into the University of Northern Colorado's Hall of Fame for her achievements in creative writing in 1989.
Her poetry and short stories have been published in numerous journals and anthologies such as: Chicanos y Chicanas en Diálogo (Quarry West Magazine, 1989); Best New Chicano Literature (Bilingual Review Press, 1989); Neueste Chicano Lyrik (Bamberg, Germany, 1994). Velásquez was recently featured in Latino Voices in Literature, 1997.
As one of Chicano Literature's most distinguished authors, Gloria Velásquez has been featured for Hispanic Heritage Month on KTLA, Channel 5, Los Angeles. In the May 1996 issue of the Stanford Alumni Magazine, Velásquez was featured as the "Latina Judy Blume." Velásquez was also selected for inclusion in Who's Who Among Hispanic Americans, 1994-1995.
Gloria Velásquez has been a guest author at various universities in Europe where her fiction has been studied. In March of 1986, Velásquez gave a prose reading in Paris, France, and in 1992 she read from her fiction at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz at the Germersheim in Germany. Velásquez is also the first Chicana writer to read her poetry and fiction at the University of Río Piedras in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Gloria Velásquez is currently a Professor in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, where she resides with her family.
Reviews
Juanita Fights the School Board
Gloria Velasquez
Juanita is fighting to stay in school, but fighting is the reason she was expelled from the district. With the help of friends and family, she manages to have the full case presented and is allowed to return to school. The story is related by Ms. Martínez, a Latina psychologist, who helps Juanita maintain her self-esteem in what could easily be a hopeless situation. 1994, Piñata, Ages 14 up, $12.95 and $7.95. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot
ISBN: 1-55885-119-4
ISBN: 1-55885-115-1
Added 1999
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