El veinticuatro de febrero/February 24th

¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Judith Ortiz Cofer! (1952-Dec. 30th, 2016)

Photo from Ortiz Cofer's obituary
on onlineathens.com. Click HERE.  

A celebrated Puerto Rican writer of poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young adult fiction, Ortiz Cofer was also the Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia from 1984 until her retirement in 2013. Born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico to young parents (her dad was just 18 and her mom not quite 15 when they married in 1951), Ortiz moved to the mainland in 1956 after her dad, who had joined the Navy to help support his family, was stationed at Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. The family lived in an apartment in Paterson, New Jersey, though whenever her father was deployed for six months at a time (which was often), they moved back to the island. It was a nomadic existence (Read more HERE). Ortiz spoke Spanish at home and English in school. As she perfected her English, she was able to help translate for her mother. In 1967 the family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where Ortiz would attend Butler High School before going on to Augusta College, and then  to Florida Atlantic University for her Masters in English. She won fellowships from Oxford University and Bread Loaf Writers Conference as she built her writing career, and she would go on to win many more, including one from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as prestigious literary awards such as the O. Henry Prize and the Pura Belpre Award. In 1993 her book The Latin Deli was nominated for a Pulitzer (Read one of her poems from that book, which reflects the ties that bind the Latino community, HERE). In a 2003 interview, Ortiz Cofer said, "The best advice I can give is to be engaged in an activity that gives meaning to your life. When you get up in the morning, you say this is what I want to be engaged in doing. [You want] a life's work as opposed to an occupation. And that is how I see my writing, as my life's work" (onlineathen.com, click HERE).

Judith Ortiz Cofer official site at the University of Georgia: click HERE.

Video of Ortiz Cofer speaking about how her mother showed her the power of storytelling my example, HERE.

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Other February 24th birthdays:

The Feb. 24th, 2015 Google Doodle
in honor of de Castro. Click HERE. 

Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885): A poet from Galicia, Spain who wrote in both Galician (gallego) and Spanish (castellano), she published her first collection of poetry, Cantares Gallegos (Galician Songs), on May 17th, 1863. May 17th is now celebrated in Galicia as Día das Letras Galegas (Galician Literature Day). She and her husband had seven children.

Other February 24th events of note:

1895 - The Cuban War of Independence (from Spain) begins with a battle in Baire, Cuba.

2008 - Fidel Castro retires as President of Cuba after 32 years, though he remains head of the Communist Party for three more years.