Oak Park and River Forest High School hit a milestone on Nov. 1 with the highest-ever attendance for an author visit (approximately 440 attendants) and a famous name: Erika Sanchez, the Mexican-American author and poet.
A partnership between the OPRF library and the English division gave students the opportunity to attend the talk with Sanchez during periods 2 and 3 in the Little Theater.
Born in Cicero, Illinois, Sanchez was previously a professor at DePaul University, in addition to being a poet and writer. In 2017, she won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” “Crying In The Bathroom: A Memoir” and “Lessons on Expulsion: Poems.” She is currently in the process of writing her fourth book.
Sanchez began the event by reading an excerpt from “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.” The reading and Sanchez’s talk opened up a space for Latinx students to feel seen, which Sanchez said she didn’t experience until later on in her life. During the Q&A portion of the event, Sanchez described what writing “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” meant to her.
“It meant survival,” she said. “It meant that I was creating something beautiful out of a lot of suffering. It felt like writing it was so urgent and felt like an emergency. It’s a slow and painful process; I cried a great deal writing it. It brought up a lot of emotions, and it was a catharsis as well.”
Sanchez also explained her connection to poetry from a young age, and how that has shaped her life. “Poetry is the way that I see the world often,” she said. “Poetry is what made me feel alive when I was 12. It showed me how to look at the world and how to make beauty out of garbage.”
Growing up in Cicero, Sanchez said she felt like she was trapped and begging for a way out, unable to find a sense of community or belonging where she lived. “I was dying to get out, and it was not because I hated everyone in it. I hated that there was nothing for me there,” she said. “I wanted a life that was bigger. I would always take the train downtown to see different things.”
OPRF librarian and coordinator of the event Amber Hooper said it was an important message for OPRF students to hear. “It’s the experience of a Mexican-American girl in high school. There’s going to be a lot of students here who can directly relate to that experience. It’s important for everyone to read about different people’s experiences,” said Hooper.
The student moderator for the event was Sofia Contreras, OPRF senior and member of the leadership team for ASPIRA, an OPRF club dedicated to education and leadership for Latinx students. “As a Mexican-American person myself, a lot of the stuff she talked about was very relatable,” they said. “She brought up conversations about my own identity and experiences that I wouldn’t have brought up otherwise, and I imagined that she did the same for a lot of the people in the audience as well.”
OPRF sophomore Annie Rinaldi attended both sessions of this event and felt just how important Sanchez’s writing is, and the connection she felt as a Latina.
“I felt like getting the chance to meet her and hearing her talk about her story and experiences was really impactful and something that was worth listening to,” Rinaldi said.
OPRF English teacher Brianna Martinez explained what she hoped students would learn and take away from this event.
“I hope my students are able to leave this event with a sense of empowerment and connection,” she said. “Reading is a strong force in human connection, and we are so fortunate to have opportunities like this at OPRF. I hope they feel inspired to create something that heals their soul, tells their story, spreads joy or does any of the things that art allows.”
