American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 6 (1985) Winner
Gary Soto
ゲイリー・ソト
Gērī Soto
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1952-04-12 （Fresno, California）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Residence History
- Berkeley, California → Fresno, California
Career
- Occupations
- Author, Poet, Novelist, Memoirist, Children's author, Professor
- Active Years
- 1977-
- Influenced By
- Pablo Neruda, Gabriel García Márquez, Philip Levine, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University, Fresno | — | English | B.A. | 1970s | United States |
| University of California, Irvine | — | Poetry Writing | M.F.A. | 1974–1976 | United States |
California State University, Fresno
English
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1970s
Year of Graduation:
1974
Country:
United States
Studied with Philip Levine
University of California, Irvine
Poetry Writing
Degree:
M.F.A.
Period:
1974–1976
Year of Graduation:
1976
Country:
United States
One of the first Mexican-American MFA graduates there
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | United States Award of the International Poetry Forum (for The Elements of San Joaquin) | The Elements of San Joaquin | — | International Poetry Forum | winner |
| 1985 | American Book Award | Living Up the Street | — | Before Columbus Foundation | winner |
| 1993 | Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence (Children's) | The Pool Party (producer) | — | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) | winner |
| 1999 | Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature | — | — | Hispanic Heritage Foundation | recipient |
| 1999 | PEN Center USA/Rose theawards (PEN Center West) Book Award (for Petty Crimes) | Petty Crimes | — | PEN Center West | winner |
| 2014 | Phoenix Award (for Jesse) | Jesse | — | Children's literature award committee (Phoenix Award) | winner |
| 1995 | National Book Award finalist (New and Selected Poems) | New and Selected Poems | — | National Book Foundation | finalist |
United States Award of the International Poetry Forum (for The Elements of San Joaquin)
1976
Work:
The Elements of San Joaquin
Organization:
International Poetry Forum
Result:
winner
American Book Award
1985
Work:
Living Up the Street
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
winner
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence (Children's)
1993
Work:
The Pool Party (producer)
Organization:
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
Result:
winner
Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature
1999
Organization:
Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Result:
recipient
PEN Center USA/Rose theawards (PEN Center West) Book Award (for Petty Crimes)
1999
Work:
Petty Crimes
Organization:
PEN Center West
Result:
winner
Phoenix Award (for Jesse)
2014
Work:
Jesse
Organization:
Children's literature award committee (Phoenix Award)
Result:
winner
National Book Award finalist (New and Selected Poems)
1995
Work:
New and Selected Poems
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
finalist
Awards & Nominations
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award
1 appearances
Works
Major Works
Living Up the Street
1985 Memoir / NonfictionA memoir depicting childhood in Fresno, family life, and working-class experiences.
Mexican-American identityPoverty and laborComing of age
New and Selected Poems
1995 PoetryA collection combining selected poems from Soto's career with new works.
Fragments of daily lifeFamily and communityMemory
Petty Crimes
Short stories / FictionA short-story collection capturing moments of youth and barrio life.
AdolescenceCommunityRealistic portrayals of everyday life
Jesse
1994 Children's / Young adultA coming-of-age story of a Mexican-American boy in Vietnam-era Fresno.
Coming of agePrejudice and povertyCommunity
Chato's Kitchen
1995 Children's picture bookFirst in a picture-book series about a cool barrio cat named Chato in East Los Angeles.
Latino cultureHumorNeighborhood
Bibliography
- The Elements of San Joaquin
- Living Up the Street
- New and Selected Poems
- Petty Crimes
- Jesse
- Chato's Kitchen (Chato y su cena)
Adaptations
- The No-Guitar Blues (1991)
- The Pool Party (producer, 1992)
- Novio Boy (1994)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, everyday dictionVisual, image-driven poetryBlend of humor and poignancy
- Recurring Motifs
- Barrio lifeFood and everyday detailsChildhood and family
Legacy
Known for portraying Mexican-American experience through everyday perspectives. Prolific in children's and young-adult literature; recognized for representing community and barrio life. Honored with a literary museum in Fresno.
Museums
- Gary Soto Literary Museum Old Administration Building, Fresno City College, Fresno, California Opened in 2011
- Winchell Elementary School Library (named for Gary Soto) Fresno, California
Archives
- Gary Soto Papers (Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
In Popular Culture
- The Chato picture-book series is widely recognized as a representation of Latino culture in children's literature.
Quotes
-
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.
Source: Joyce Carol Oates (critique)
Trivia
- One of the first Mexican-American MFA graduates at UC Irvine (1976).
- Winchell Elementary School library in Fresno was named after him.
- Worked in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley as a youth.
- Prolific author of children's and young-adult books.