Woman Without Shame

Novelist Cisneros’s (The House on Mango Street; Loose Woman) new collection of poems—her first in nearly three decades—explores womanhood, her ancestry, and humanity. Cisneros narrates her own work, allowing listeners to hear these poems as they were meant to be read. The poems are at turns humorous, emotional, and haunting. The narration is often musical, conveying the rhythm and flow of Cisneros’s cadence. A few poems are in Spanish, but Cisneros’s emotive delivery emphatically communicates meaning, even for those who don’t speak the language. The poems flow together, encompassing the poet’s life from her experiences as a young woman to her contemplations of aging and death. While the poems describe Cisneros’s personal history, they also provide a powerful window into what it means for women to live for themselves and dispense with cultural and societal expectations. The author’s note gives more insight into Cisneros’s writing process, both as a novelist and as a poet, as well as her search for and acceptance of life.