Poet and essayist. Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982 and 1988. Her most noted work is The House on Mango Street, which is, ironically, not poetry. Her other works include Bad Boys, Loose Women, Woman Hollering Creek and other stories, My Wicked Wicked Ways, Caramelo, and Hairs Pelitos, an illustrated childrens' book, from a vignette called 'Hairs' in The House on Mango Street.