Francisco X. Alarcón

Francisco X. Alarcón is an award-winning poet who writes for both children and adults. Born in Los Angeles, Califonia, he considers himself "bi-national," having spent time as a child in both Mexico and the United States. He expressed this in a poem: "I carry my roots with me all the time/Rolled up I use them as my pillow." Alarcón's poetry was inspired by songs he heard from his grandmother, which he presents for readers in both English and in Spanish. A binational, bicultural, bilingual poet: Francisco Alarcón, and his family before him, spend their lives moving back and forth across a border that, for them, doesn't really exist. Being bilingual: Francisco Alarcón learned Spanish and then English. Being bilingual affects who he is, and opens many doors. First day of school: Share Franscisco Alarcón's experience of entering a strange new world on his first day of school as expressed in one of his bilingual poems from "Angels ride bikes." Guardian Angel: In this poem, presented first in Spanish then English, Francisco Alarcón tells us how a "guardian angel" made him realize he was not alone in the process of learning English in school. Becoming a poet: Francisco Alarcón's Mexican grandmother sang traditional Hispanic songs while strumming a mandolin. Francisco developed his writing abilities when he decided to transcribe her original songs and discovered he had to make up the lines he'd forgotten. From the Bellybutton of the moon : Mexico means "from the belly button of the moon" in Nahuatl, the indigenous language of Francisco Alarcón's ancestors. When he was writing a collection of poem by that name, he had to return to the belly button of the moon to overcome writer's block. Trilingual poems: Sometimes, one language expresses the sentiments of a poem better than another does - that's what Francisco Alarcón discovered when writing "Snake Eyes" a unique collection of trilingual (Spanish, English, Nahuatl) poems. Writing poetry in two languages: Sometimes one must compromise when translating poetry, one language may convey an idea better. Sometimes the translation is near impossible when a certain concept doesn't exist in the other language. The writing process : Editing and revising are crucial part of Francisco Alarcón's story, as is capturing the essence of his feelings in a few lines. A poem is incomplete : For Francisco Alarcón, a poem is never complete, even after the poet is finished writing it. He believes the reader is needed to complete a poem. Poetry empowers : In this moving clip, we learn of two Latino boys empowered to write communicate their feelings about their fathers. As Francisco Alarcón said, "that's what poetry is all about, it's about changing people." What schools can do : It's important for schools to provide children with access to writers (in their native language), and to provide them with good role models who will make them feel comfortable and proud of their Latino heritage.