From a very young age, Juana Inés loved words. When she was three years old, she followed her sister to school and begged the teacher to let her stay so she could learn how to read. Juana enjoyed poring over books and was soon making up her own stories, songs, and poems. Juana wanted to become a scholar, but career options for women were limited at this time. She decided to become a nun—Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz—in order to spend her life in solitude reading and writing. Though she died in 1695, Sor Juana Inés is still considered one of the most brilliant writers in Mexico's history: her poetry is recited by schoolchildren throughout Mexico and is studied at schools and universities around the world.
Themes
Genres: Non-Fiction
Categories: Biography
Content: Bi/multilingual
Settings: Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico
Ethnicity: Mexican
Gender: Boy/Man, Gender Non-Conforming, Girl/Woman
Race/Culture: Latinx/Hispanic/Latin American
Religion: Christian
Character Prominence: Dominant Main, Secondary
Spanish edition, Una biblioteca para Juana, available in Bates catalog.