The House on Mango Street

by Sandra Cisneros

live in is a house on fire and the people we love are burning.

How can art make a difference in the world? This was never asked at Iowa. Should she be teaching these students to write poetry when they need to know how to defend themselves from someone beating them up?

Norma, I did it by doing the things I was afraid of doing so that I would no longer be afraid.

ID conmigo.

You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky.

People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth. They don’t look down at all except to be content to live on hills.