Lisa Sánchez González, a 2Leaf Press author who will publish her forthcoming book, Puerto Rican Folktales/ Cuentos folclóricos puertorriqueños (Bilingual: English/Spanish) under our 2LP NUYORICAN WORLD SERIES, recently published The Stories I Read to the Children: The Life and Writing of Pura Belpré, the Legendary Storyteller, Children’s Author, and New York Public Librarian.
In The Stories I Read to the Children, Sánchez González documents for the very first time the life and writing of Pura Belpré, one of the most important public intellectuals in the history of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Belpré was a children’s librarian, author, folklorist, translator, storyteller, and puppeteer who began her career during the Harlem Renaissance and the formative decades of the New York Public Library (NYPL). Published by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College/CUNY in New York, Sánchez González selected, edited, and annotated Belpré’s archival magerials, including published and unpublished short stories by Belpré, together with an insightful and comprehensive biographical introduction.
Shortly after she was hired by the NYPL in 1921, Belpré quickly became an active advocate for the Spanish-speaking community by instituting bilingual story hours, buying Spanish language books, and implementing programs based on traditional holidays like the celebration of Three Kings Day. Besides writing children’s books. Belpré also collected folktales from Puerto Rico, translated and re-interpreted them into English, and had them published as children’s literature. As a result, she is considered the earliest known Afro-Caribeña contributor to American literature.
Sánchez González spent over ten years researching Belpré’ and her works. While much of the work was done at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, her research extended to a number of institutions, including multiple trips to Puerto Rico. The Stories I Read to the Children is the most extensive study to date of Belpré’s life and writing. Thoroughly researched but clearly written, this study is scholarship that is also accessible to general readers, students, and teachers. Belpré, who died in 1982, has left behind a rich literary legacy. Scores of her stories, long out-of-print, are finally re-issued in this volume, giving a new generation of children the opportunity to enjoy them.
As an added plus, Sánchez González will be appearing at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Hunter College/CUNY) as part of their “Meet the Author” series with discussants Julio Hernández and Virginia Sánchez Korrol on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 6:00 pm. The presentation will be held at the Hunter College Faculty Dining Room, Hunter College at The Louis and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work on Third Avenue and 119th Street in East Harlem.
There is no doubt that Pura Belpré has played a large role in Sánchez González’s desire to publish her own collection of folktales, Puerto Rican Folktales/ Cuentos folclóricos puertorriqueños., which 2Leaf Press plans to publish in Spring 2014. We congratulate Sánchez González and commemorate this milestone in the publication of The Stories I Read to the Children.
Lisa Sánchez González holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from UCLA. She is Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut.
