Jorge Argueta (born in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and a Pipil

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

) is a Salvadoran award-winning poet and author of many highly acclaimed bilingual children's books and short stories, covering themes related to Latino culture and traditions, nature, and the immigrant experience. He immigrated to the United States in the 1980s during the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

Early life

Argueta grew up in Santo Domingo de Guzmán

, where his grandmother, an indigenous healer, told him stories from his indigenous heritage and their belief in a human-nature connection, instilling in him great respect for the environment and appreciation for oral tradition. He spent time in the city helping his parents run a small restaurant as well as in the countryside, helping his grandparents tend to their farm. He left

when he was 19 years old due to the ongoing

Career

Argueta has worked as a gardener and in a coffeehouse. He has written numerous children's books, short stories as well as poems that have been included in textbooks and anthologies. His children's books are written in poetry form, in two languages (English and Spanish), and reflect the Latino experience and heritage; he also writes about the Nahuat Pipil and their deep appreciation and respect for nature. His adult poems cover themes of the hardships of growing up in

during wartime and the difficulties experienced by immigrants in the United States. He has spent over 15 years as a workshop and classroom presenter, speaking about the power of poetry on children's lives.

Awards

* 2001 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''A Movie In My Pillow'' * 2002

Independent Publisher Book Awards The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled as the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual literary awards for independently published books. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Aw ...

Multicultural Fiction Juvenile/Young Adult – Winner, ''A Movie In My Pillow'' * 2002 Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multicultural Literature, ''A Movie In My Pillow'' * 2003 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''Xochitl and the Flowers/Xochitl, la niña de las flores'' * 2004 Independent Publisher Book Award Multicultural Fiction Juvenile/Young Adult – Finalist, ''Xochitl and the Flowers/Xochitl, la niña de las flores'' * 2005 NAPPA Gold Award – Preschool/Kindergarten, ''Moony Luna/Luna, Lunita, Lunera'' * 2006 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''Talking With Mother Earth'' * 2006 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''La fiesta de las tortillas / La Fiesta de Las Tortillas'' * 2007-2008 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature - Commendation, ''Alfredito Flies Home'' * 2010 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''Sopa de frijoles / Bean Soup'' * 2011 Northern California Book Award – Finalist, ''Arroz con leche: Un poema para cocinar/Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem'' * 2016 Américas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature – Commendation, ''Salsa: Un poema para cocinar / A Cooking Poem'' * 2017 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award ''Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds''

Bibliography

Books for Children

''A Movie in My Pillow/Una película en mi almohada'' (bilingual), illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez, Children's Book Press (San Francisco, CA), 2001. ''El Zipitio'', illustrated by Gloria Calderón, translated by Elisa Amado,

Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anansi ...

(Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003. ''Trees Are Hanging from the Sky/Los árboles estan colgando del cielo'', illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003. ''Xochitl and the Flowers/Xóchitl, la niña de las flores'' (bilingual), illustrated by Carl Angel, Children's Book Press (San Francisco, CA), 2003. ''Moony Luna/Luna, Lunita Lunera'' (bilingual), illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez, Children's Book Press (San Francisco, CA), 2005. ''The Fiesta of the Tortillas/La fiesta de las tortillas'' (bilingual), illustrated by María Jesus Alvarez,

Alfaguara Alfaguara is a Spanish-language publishing house that serves markets in Hispanic America, Spain and the United States. It was founded by the Spanish writer and Nobel Prize winner Camilo José Cela. History and profile Alfaguara was establishe ...

(Miami, FL), 2006. ''The Little Hen in the City/La gallinita en la ciudad'' (bilingual), illustrated by Mima Castro, Alfaguara (Miami, FL), 2006. ''Talking With Mother Earth: Poems/Hablando con Madre Tierra: poemas'' (bilingual), illustrated by Lucia Angela Pérez, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2006. ''Alfredito Flies Home/Alfredito regresa volando a su casa'', illustrated by Luis Garay, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2007. ''The best match: A Mayan Folktale'' illustrated by Peter Martínez Grosshauser, Hampton-Brown (Carmel, CA), 2007. ''Sopa de frijoles: Un poema para cocinar/Bean Soup: A Cooking Poem'', illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, Groundwood Books/Libros Tigrillo (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2009. ''Arroz con leche: Un poema para cocinar/Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem'', illustrated by Fernando Vilela, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2010. ''Guacamole: Un poema para cocinar /A Cooking Poem'' illustrated by Margarita Sada, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2012. ''Tamalitos: Un poema para cocinar/A Cooking Poem'' illustrated by Domi, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2013. ''Salsa: Un poema para cocinar / A Cooking Poem'' illustrated by

Duncan Tonatiuh Duncan Tonatiuh (born 1984) is a Mexican-American author and illustrator of several award-winning children's books. The illustrations in his books are influenced by Pre-Columbian art. The themes in his stories relate to the Latino experience, wit ...

, translated by Elisa Amado, Groundwood Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2015. ''Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds'' illustrated by Alfonso Ruano, Groundwood Books(Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2016. ''Agua aguita / Water Little Water'' illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara,

Arte Público Press Arte Público Press is a publishing house associated with the University of Houston (Houston, Texas). It is the largest US publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by Hispanic-American authors, publishing approximately 30 titles per ye ...

(Houston, TX), 2017.

Poetry for Adults

''Love Street'', translated by Margot Pepper, Tiki Bob Publishing (San Francisco, CA), 1991. ''Corazón del barrio/Heart of the neighborhood: poems'',

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary publisher, press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented underground comix, comix, children's books, and alternative ...

(San Francisco, CA), 1994. ''En carne propia / Flesh Wounds'',

(Houston, TX), 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argueta, Jorge Living people Salvadoran poets Salvadoran male writers Salvadoran male poets Year of birth missing (living people) Salvadoran children's writers