American Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1982) Winner
Lorna Dee Cervantes
ローナ・ディー・セバンテス
Rōna Dī Sebantesu
Pen Names:
Lorna D. Cervantes（Variant used professionally in publications and academic contexts）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1954-08-06 （Mission District, San Francisco, California, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- San Francisco, California (birth–early childhood) → San Jose, California (raised) → Santa Cruz, California (attended UC Santa Cruz) → Boulder, Colorado (faculty period) → San Francisco Bay Area, California (residence and professional activity)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Professor (English/Creative Writing), Publisher, Editor, Activist, Philosopher
- Active Years
- 1970-
- Affiliations
- UC Santa Cruz (Instructor), University of Colorado at Boulder (Associate Professor of English), San Francisco State University (Ethnic Studies Lecturer)
- Influenced By
- William Shakespeare, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Alurista, African-American women poets
- Influenced
- Subsequent generations of Chicano/Chicana poets, Latina poets
- Nominations
- Northern California Book Award (Poetry, 2012), Latin American Book Award (Poetry, 2014)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Community College | — | — | Associate of Arts | 1974–1976 | United States |
| San José State University | — | Creative Arts | BA (Creative Arts) | 1980–1984 | United States |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | — | History of Consciousness | PhD 課程修了（論文未提出、All but dissertation） | 1984–1988 | United States |
San Jose Community College
Degree:
Associate of Arts
Period:
1974–1976
Year of Graduation:
1976
Country:
United States
San José State University
Creative Arts
Degree:
BA (Creative Arts)
Period:
1980–1984
Year of Graduation:
1984
Country:
United States
Alumnus (recognized as Outstanding Alumnus)
University of California, Santa Cruz
History of Consciousness
Degree:
PhD 課程修了（論文未提出、All but dissertation）
Period:
1984–1988
Country:
United States
Attended doctoral program (all but dissertation)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | American Book Award | Emplumada | — | Before Columbus Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1979 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 |
| 1989 | National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 受賞 |
| — | Pushcart Prize | — | — | Pushcart Press | 受賞（複数回） |
| 1995 | Lila-Wallace/Reader's Digest Writer's Award | — | — | Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Foundation | 受賞 |
| — | Patterson Prize For Poetry | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Latino Literature Prize | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Latin American Book Award (Poetry, Second Place) | Sueño | 詩 | — | 2位（入賞） |
| 2012 | Northern California Book Award (Nominee) | Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems | 詩 | — | ノミネート（ファイナリスト） |
| — | Colorado Poet Laureate (Finalist) | — | — | — | 最終候補 |
| — | Denver/Colorado Book Award (Finalist) | — | — | — | 最終候補 |
American Book Award
1982
Work:
Emplumada
Organization:
Before Columbus Foundation
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1979
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1989
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
受賞
Pushcart Prize
Organization:
Pushcart Press
Result:
受賞（複数回）
Lila-Wallace/Reader's Digest Writer's Award
1995
Organization:
Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Foundation
Result:
受賞
Patterson Prize For Poetry
Result:
受賞
Latino Literature Prize
Result:
受賞
Latin American Book Award (Poetry, Second Place)
Work:
Sueño
Category:
詩
Result:
2位（入賞）
Northern California Book Award (Nominee)
2012
Work:
Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems
Category:
詩
Result:
ノミネート（ファイナリスト）
Colorado Poet Laureate (Finalist)
Result:
最終候補
Denver/Colorado Book Award (Finalist)
Result:
最終候補
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Emplumada
1981 Poetry (Chicano poetry)A debut collection addressing identity, loss, cultural roots, and womanhood; widely regarded as a seminal work in Chicano poetry and winner of the American Book Award.
IdentityLoss and recoveryEthnicityFeminine experience
From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger
1991 PoetryA collection focusing on love, hunger, and political/historical violence, connecting personal loss with collective memory.
ViolenceMemoryLoveSocial critique
DRIVE: The First Quartet
2006 PoetryA sequence of interrelated poems containing experimental elements that intertwine personal and social themes.
Self-explorationSocietyFormal experimentation
Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems
2011 Poetry (short poems)A compact collection of one hundred ~100-word love poems; experimental in form and nominated for regional book awards.
LoveConcise expressionEveryday life and memory
Sueño: New Poems
2013 PoetryA significant later collection exploring ancestry, dreams, and history poetically; shortlisted for the Latin American Book Award (poetry).
DreamsAncestral memoryInheritance of history
Bibliography
- Emplumada (1981)
- From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger (1991)
- DRIVE: The First Quartet (2006)
- Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems (2011)
- Sueño: New Poems (2013)
- MANGO (founder/editor)
- Red Dirt (co-editor)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical and emotionally chargedContemporary poetry with political and feminist perspectivesBlend of colloquial voice and formal experimentation
- Recurring Motifs
- Loss and recoveryLanguage and identity explorationAncestry and memoryLove and hunger (both metaphorical and literal)
Legacy
Lorna Dee Cervantes is regarded as a leading figure in Chicano/Chicana poetry, influencing U.S. poetry through themes of feminism, ethnicity, and memory. As an educator and editor she has supported subsequent generations of Latino writers.
Academic Societies
- Academic organizations in Latino/Chicano studies (various)
Quotes
-
Through writing and publishing I was trying to give back that gift that had saved me... I envisioned some little Chicana scanning the shelves, hoping she'll pull it out, relate to it.
Source: Interview by Sonia V. Gonzalez (MELUS, 2007) (2007)
Trivia
- Considered one of the leading figures in Chicano poetry.
- Founded the literary review MANGO, which published early work by Sandra Cisneros and others.
- Won the American Book Award in 1982 for Emplumada.
- Of Mexican and Chumash Indigenous ancestry.