Excerpt from

Old Maids

My cousins and I,
we don't marry.
We're too old
by Mexican standards.

And the relatives
have long suspected
we can't anymore
in white.



Sandra Cisneros at Modern American Poetry

Interview with Sandra Cisneros, by Reed Dasenbrock

I think that incorporating the Spanish, for me, allows me to create new expressions in English--to say things in English that have never been said before. And I get to do that by translating literally. I love calling stories by Spanish expressions. I called this story "Salvador Early." It's a nice title It means "sooner or later," tarde o temprano, which literally translates as late or early. All of a sudden something happens to the English, something really new is happening, a new spice is added to the English language.
Sandra Cisneros talks about her early life (video)

 

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