Analysis Of My Own True Name By Pat Mora

Pat Mora is an American of Mexican descent; and has written over 40 books, which encompass poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her books largely address children. However, she has written a book for teens and young adults, called “My Own True Name”, as well as, a book for educators, called “Zing”. Three of her poems, “Suspense”, “One Blue Door”, and “Twilight Choir”, occur during and after a rain; and will show how her use of diction entertains and speaks to children. The titles of these poems do not elude to the theme of the poems when examined only for the purpose of attempting to interpret the title. The settings of the poems are at different times. In the poem, “Suspense”, “Wind chases itself around our house, flattens wild grasses with …show more content…
“Suspense” uses pensive words such as boil, roil, rumble, and plink, and there is no structure or rhyme used. “One Blue Door” incorporates the use of terms from fantasy, such as glide, leap, skimming; and opens five out of seven stanzas with “To make a poem…” giving it a structure with all stanzas having four lines. “Twilight Choir” includes terms, such as glisten, hum, canopies, and melodies. The only structure used is at the beginning and ending of the poem where “After the rain” is used to open and close the poem. The stanzas alternate between four and five lines per stanza, and consist of four total …show more content…
She graduated from Texas Western College with her B.A. in 1963; and, in 1967, while attending the University of Texas at El Paso, attained her M.A. She taught secondary education and at the college level. At one point, she hosted a radio show. In 1981, she divorced, left teaching, and began to writing children’s books and poetry (University of Minnesota). Pat Mora became a writer in her late thirties, and credits a poetry fellowship she received from the National Endowment for the Arts for encouraging her to write as an occupation (Rowlands). Mora’s writing styles include essays, poetry, children’s books, and a memoir. She is bilingual, and she writes many of her books that way. Some, while written in English, have Spanish words throughout for enrichment of the story (York). Mora feels that librarians can bridge the gap in diverse literature by sharing the voices, and suggests that diverse books need more recognition to make them more accessible. Dia is a celebration of diversity created by Mora to connect children with books. (Marshall and