On Exhibit at Robeson Library: NEA Big Read/The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Paul Robeson Library, in partnership with the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts, is hosting an exhibit for the NEA Big Read/The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros now through January 31, 2025. 

Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Cisneros’s greatly admired novel of a Latina girl growing up in Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents, and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.

Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn’t want to belong — not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza’s story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become. 

Complimentary copies of the book will be available in both English and Spanish on a first-come, first-served basis and participants will have the opportunity to participate in a community weave wall installation piece constructed by the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts.

Launched in 2006, the NEA Big Read aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in participating communities. In partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA supports programming centered around one of 15 different contemporary books.

For more information, visit the Big Read website.