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MEET FRANCISCO JIMENEZ
by Bonnie O'Brian

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

The Grapes of Wrath was the book that influenced me the most. I read it when I was a sophomore in High School. In the story of the Joad family, I felt the power of literature to confirm identity and to express common themes of human experiences that transcend language. For the first time, I realized that my own story, as well as the story of other Mexican migrant workers, was part of the American story. I understood the power of words to move hearts and minds, the power of literature to change lives.

If you didn’t write as a child, then when did you start writing and what inspired you to start?

I began writing when I was in graduate school at Columbia University. The inspiration for my writing comes from my teachers and the community of my childhood-migrant farm workers.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

After I graduated from college I went to graduate school at Columbia University where I taught part-time while I worked on my Ph.D. on the Mexican historical novel, which was published in Mexico.

When was your fist book published?

My first book, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, was published in 1997. It is based on my childhood experiences, growing up in a family of Mexican migrant farm workers.

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction and why do you write?

All my creative writing is autobiographical. I wrote The Circuit to chronicle part of my family’s history but, more importantly, to voice the experiences of a larger sector of our society that has been frequently ignored. Through my writing I hope to give readers an insight into the lives of migrant farm workers and their children whose back-breaking labor of picking fruits and vegetables puts food on our tables. Their courage and struggles, hopes and dreams for a better life for their children and their children’s children give meaning to the term “American dream.” Their story is the American story. I wrote Breaking Through to pay tribute to my family and teachers, and to document part of my own history, but more importantly, to voice the experiences of many children and young adults who confront numerous obstacles in their efforts to become educated. How they manage to "break through" depends as much on their courage, hope, and God-given talents as it does on loving, compassionate, and generous people who commit themselves to making a difference in the lives of children and young adults.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

My books The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, Breaking Through and my two illustrated bilingual children’s books, La Mariposa, and The Christmas Gift/El regalo de Navidad have have won several national literary awards, including the Américas Book Award, the Pura Belpré Honor Book Award, the Tomás Rivera Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. They have been published in several languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.

What are you work on now?

Currently, I am working on the sequel to Breaking Through. In this work I will focus on my college experiences, which are common to many first generation college students.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

On my school visits I want students to appreciate their education and to take advantage of it. I also stress the importance of valuing and respecting cultural differences.

Has anyone ever written you a fan letter that you’d like to share?

I often receive letters from teachers and students. Here are two of them. A high school student responded to The Circuit and Breaking Through: “It made me feel really good when I read your story because I no longer felt alone, I felt like I had someone to share my experiences with…”Referring to The Circuit, a college student wrote in an essay for her English class: “Never before had I read a piece of academic literature so profoundly related to both my family’s history…. Not until I read this personal testimony did I begin to place a human face—the face of Panchito, the young narrator, the face of my [Portuguese] immigrant grandparents—to the abstract notions of poverty and justice.”