Sandra Cisneros was born December 20, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of a Mexican father and Mexican American mother. She was the only daughter in a family of seven. Because her father missed his homeland, the family frequently moved from Chicago to Mexico City and then back again, leaving Cisneros often feeling homeless. She developed a love of reading and, as early as the fifth grade, had plans to go to college. During childhood and adolescence, she also began writing poems and stories.

In 1976, Cisneros earned a bachelor of arts degree from Loyola University of Chicago and then attended the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, graduating in 1978 with a master of fine arts degree. It was while studying in Iowa that Cisneros began writing about her experiences as a Latina woman living outside mainstream American culture.

Cisneros taught at the Latino Youth Alternative High School in Chicago...