Cisneros in Latvia

Each year, the U.S.A. Information Center in Daugavpils (an outreach branch of the U.S. Embassy in Latvia) hosts a literary event in one of the area high schools, this year at the Russian Lyceum. The event consists of a group of educators choosing a book that speaks to the American experience. High schoolers and high school teachers from all over the city read it and then meet to discuss it. It's like a book club, though on a rather grander scale.

This year the committee that organizes this event chose the book that I suggested: Sandra Cisneros's coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street. I suggested it for a number of reasons: 1) it's short, which is no small consideration with readers for whom English is not their first language; 2) it's also very poetic, so it would present some challenge to these very skilled English readers; 3) it's taught everywhere from elementary schools to graduate schools in different contexts, so it's an easy teach; and 4) it offers a Latino prism on American culture that would likely be unfamiliar to Latvians. If you haven't read it, go do so, and you may thank me later for the recommendation.

Here are some photos of the day, which took place on April 18. First, me and the teachers, followed by one of the lead organizers Irīna Bučinska. Then there's the auditorium at the Russian lyceum itself, which I sort of dig with its Balt Deco styling.

The most important participants of the day, however, were the diligent students, who gathered, discussed, and presented on Cisneros's prose-poetry novel. To my knowledge, this is the first time that Cisneros has been taught in Latvia. I hope it won't be the last.

There are more photos on the Info Center's Facebook page, and lots more information about its many programs. As always, thanks to coordinator extraordinaire Natalija Oševerova for making all of this happen. The event concluded with more free books for these readers from the Embassy and, of course, chocolate for everybody.