Margarita Engle (born in Los Angeles, California on September 2, 1951) is a

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

poet and author of many award-winning books for children, young adults and adults. Most of Engle's stories are written in verse and are a reflection of her Cuban heritage and her deep appreciation and knowledge of nature. She became the first Latino awarded a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), seve ...

in 2009 for '' The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom''. She was selected by the

Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is an American literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthropist Rut ...

to serve from 2017 to 2019 as the sixth Young People's Poet Laureate. On October 9, 2018, Margarita Engle was announced the winner of the 2019

NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature The NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature is an international children's literary award founded in 2003 and given every odd-number year by ''World Literature Today''. The prize is an offshoot of the Neustadt International Prize for Literatu ...

. She was nominated by 2019 NSK Prize jury member Lilliam Rivera.

Early life

Engle's father was born in Los Angeles, California and her mother in

Trinidad, Cuba Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...

. Although Engle was born and raised in California, growing up, she spent many summers with her extended family in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. As a child, she was introduced to poetry in Spanish, particularly the works of

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

Career

Engle earned a B.S. from

California State Polytechnic University California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

in 1974, an M.S. from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in 1977, and nearly completed a doctoral degree in biology from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

in 1983. Before starting her writing career, Engle was a tenured professor of agronomy at California Polytechnic University. While working on her doctoral degree, she took a seminar in creative writing with

Tomás Rivera Tomás Rivera (December 22, 1935 – May 16, 1984) was a Mexican American author, poet, and educator. He was born in Texas to migrant farm workers, and worked in the fields as a young boy. However, he achieved social mobility through educatio ...

, and credits this experience with igniting her passion to write. She lives in

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the San J ...

, where she enjoys helping her husband with his volunteer work for wilderness search and rescue dog training programs.

Awards

Entire body of work (''2019'') *

THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA, A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano (''Henry Holt & Co., 2006'') *2008 Pura Belpré Medal for author *2006 Américas Award winner *International Reading Association Teachers' Choice *ALA Best Books for Young Adults *NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts *Bank Street THE SURRENDER TREE, Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom (''Henry Holt & Co., 2008'') * 2009

* 2009 Pura Belpré Medal for author * 2009 Américas Award winner *

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were previously given joint ...

for book for older children * Claudia Lewis Poetry Award * Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor * ALA Best Books for Young Adults *

ALA Notable Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

* NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book * Amelia Bloomer Book * Booklist Editors Choice * Kansas State Reading Circle * Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award Master List *

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

Selection TROPICAL SECRETS, Holocaust Refugees in Cuba (''Henry Holt & Co., 2009'') *2010

Sydney Taylor Book Award The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish L ...

*Paterson Prize *2010 Américas Award Commendation *New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing *ALA Best Books for Young Adults Nominee *California Teachers Association Recommended Book THE FIREFLY LETTERS, A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba (''Henry Holt & Co., 2010'') *2011 Pura Belpré Honor for author *2011 Américas Award Honor *Jane Addams Award Finalist *California Book Award Finalist *International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society *NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book *Amelia Bloomer Book *TAYSHAS Choice *Junior Library Guild Selection SUMMER BIRDS, The Butterflies of Maria Merian (''Henry Holt & Co., 2010'', picture book) *2012 Américas Award winner *Kirkus Best Books for Children *NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book *Amelia Bloomer Book HURRICANE DANCERS, The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck (''Henry Holt & Co., 2011'') *2012 Pura Belpré Honor for author *ALSC 2012 Notable Children's Book for older readers *ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee *Poetry for Children Blog's Top 20 Most Distinctive Books of Poetry 2011 *2012 White Ravens List DRUM DREAM GIRL, (''Houghton Mifflin Harcourt., 2015'') *2016

Charlotte Zolotow Award The Charlotte Zolotow Award is an American literary award presented annually for outstanding writing in a picture book published in the United States during the preceding year. By contrast, the Caldecott Medal is for outstanding illustration in ...

*2016 Américas Award Commendation ENCHANTED AIR: TWO CULTURES, TWO WINGS: A MEMOIR (''Simon and Schuster., 2015'') *2016 Pura Belpré Medal for author *2016 Américas Award Commendation FOREST WORLD (''Simon and Schuster., 2017)'' * CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book * 2018 Green Earth Book Award * Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Intermediate Title *

Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childho ...

Honor Book

Selected works

"Archetype"; "Memory"; "Variations on a Theme"
''Terrain.org''
''Singing to Cuba''
Arte Publico Press, 1993, *''Skywriting'', Bantam Books, 1995,
''The Poet Slave of Cuba, a Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano''
(Henry Holt & Co., April, 2006)
''The Surrender Tree''
(Holt, 2008)
''Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba''
Macmillan, 2009,
''The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba''
Henry Holt & Co., 2010,
''Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian''
Henry Holt & Co., 2010,
''Hurricane Dancers The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck''
Henry Holt & Co., 2011,
''The Wild Book''
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, *''When You Wander'', Henry Holt and Co., 2013, *''The Lightning Dreamer'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 201, *''Mountain Dog'', Henry Holt and Co., 2013, *''Orangutanka: A Story in Poems'', Henry Holt and Co., 2015, *''Drum Dream Girl,'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, *''Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir,'' Simon and Schuster, 2015, *''Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words'', Simon and Schuster, 2017 * ''Dreams from Many Rivers'', Henry Holt and Co., 2019 * ''Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots'', Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019

References

External links