Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 20, 1954. She received a B.A. in English from Loyola University of Chicago in 1976 and a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1978. She has worked as a college recruiter, an arts administrator, a teacher to high school dropouts, and a poet. She has also visited numerous colleges around the country as a visiting writer. She has written numerous books including The House on Mango Street, Caramelo, Loose Woman, Have You Seen Marie?, and A House of My Own: Stories from My Life. She has received numerous awards including the MacArthur Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, the Lannan Literary Award, the American Book Award, and the Thomas Wolfe Prize.