Margarita Engle

Margarita Engle

Engle in 2014
Born (1951-09-02) September 2, 1951
Pasadena, California, United States
Occupation Writer
Nationality American
Website
margaritaengle.com

Margarita Engle (born in Pasadena, California on September 2, 1951)[1] is a Cuban American poet and author of many award-winning books for children, young adults and adults.[2] Most of Engle's stories are written in verse and are a reflection of her Cuban heritage and her deep appreciation and knowledge of nature.[3] She became the first Latino awarded a Newbery Honor in 2009 for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom.[4]

Early Life

Engle's father was born in Los Angeles, California and her mother in Trinidad, Cuba. Although Engle was born and raised in California, growing up, she spent many summers with her extended family in Cuba.[3] As a child, she was introduced to poetry in Spanish, particularly the works of Jose Martí.[5]

Career

Engle earned a B.S. from California State Polytechnic University in 1974, an M.S. from Iowa State University in 1977, and a doctoral degree in biology from the University of California, Riverside in 1983.[1] Before starting her writing career, Engle was a tenured professor of agronomy at California Polytechnic University. While completing her doctoral degree, she took a seminar in creative writing with Tomás Rivera, and credits this experience with igniting her passion to write.[5] She lives in Central California, where she enjoys helping her husband with his volunteer work for wilderness search and rescue dog training programs.[5]

Awards

THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA, A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano (Henry Holt & Co., 2006)

THE SURRENDER TREE, Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom (Henry Holt & Co., 2008)

TROPICAL SECRETS, Holocaust Refugees in Cuba (Henry Holt & Co., 2009)

THE FIREFLY LETTERS, A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba (Henry Holt & Co., 2010)

SUMMER BIRDS, The Butterflies of Maria Merian (Henry Holt & Co., 2010, picture book)

HURRICANE DANCERS, The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck (Henry Holt & Co., 2011)

DRUM DREAM GIRL, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt., 2015)

ENCHANTED AIR: TWO CULTURES, TWO WINGS: A MEMOIR (Simon and Schuster., 2015)

Selected Works

References

  1. 1 2 "Something About The Author Online - Document - Margarita Engle (1951-)". go.galegroup.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  2. ↑ "A video interview with Margarita Engle | AdLit.org". www.adlit.org. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  3. 1 2 "Margarita Engle". www.margaritaengle.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  4. 1 2 "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present". Ala.org. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Neighboring Nations | Margarita Engle on Her Work, Cuba, and the History That Binds Us". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 admin (1999-11-30). "The Pura Belpré Award winners, 1996-present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Retrieved 2016-10-25.
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