When I was a child, I was very shy, and there's still a part of me that's very shy.

I think that we need to measure how we give dollars to libraries by need. And the communities that are poor, in my opinion, should get more because you have to do more outreach.

I usually say Latina, Mexican-American or American Mexican, and in certain contexts, Chicana, depending on whether my audience understands the term or not.

I'm filled with a new joy mixed with old grief.

When I say what I'm reading, this is what I need. I know the ills that plague me.

That's why it's important to be multilingual, because it teaches you so much about your own language.

I just feel that the East and the West are two different worlds. I sometimes get saddened when I see that very few writers of color are published or reviewed in East Coast presses and magazines.