I discovered today that Gloria E. Anzaldua, a lesbian Chicana writer and poet that I very much admire and whom I met while I was at PSU passed away from complications from diabetes in 2004. Even though this event happened 2 1/2 years ago, it affected me and led me on a nostalgic journey today.

I remember being tremendously impacted by her writing when I discovered it. She, like my family, was from Hidalgo county, the poorest county in Texas. She, like my mother, was a migrant farm worker and was my mother's age. They grew up and worked in the fields within miles of one another or possibly side by side. I guess because of that, I felt very connected to her and her writing . I think it was empowering to me to see that someone with my family's background and history could have a voice, could have something important to share with the world.

While I worked in the Women's Studies department at PSU, I was given the task of compiling a library of books by women of color. It was truly a dream job. "Here's some money, go buy books." It was during this period that I discovered Gloria's work. I read Making Face/Making Soul: Haciendo Caras and found it to be amazing and comforting that there were women who felt and experienced intersections of culture, class and gender the way that I did. It was refreshing and exhilarating. My daughter even has her bilingual children's book, Prietita.

I was awestruck when I met this petite woman when she came to PSU to read her works and speak with students. She was warm, funny and intelligent.
She played an important role in the lives of many Chicanas. She is sorely missed.