Pat Mora's Adult Biography

"Ms. Mora's poems are proudly bilingual, an eloquent answer to purists who refuse to see language as something that lives and changes," wrote The New York Times of Pat Mora's poetry collection, Agua Santa: Holy Water. The Washington Post described her acclaimed memoir House of Houses as a "textual feast...a regenerative act...and an eloquent bearer of the old truth that it is through the senses that we apprehend love." Nepantla: Essays from the Land in the Middle was reviewed by Choice as, "Twenty inspiring essays written in a very poetic prose...A valuable contribution to American literature." Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students will be published in April.

Tucson Weekly wrote that her last poetry collection, Adobe Odes,"turns its back on hopelessness and finds a way to delight in our everyday world of food, literature, nature, religion and yes, people." Aunt Carmen's Book of Practical Saints, Communion, Borders, and Chants are her other collections.

Pat received Honorary Doctorates in Letters from North Carolina State University and SUNY Buffalo and is an Honorary Member of the American Library Association. Among her other awards are the 2006 National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award and a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship to write in Umbria, Italy. She was a Visiting Carruthers Chair at the University of New Mexico, a recipient and judge of the Poetry Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a recipient and advisor of the Kellogg National Leadership Fellowships.

A former teacher, university administrator, consultant and the author of many award-winning children's books, Pat is the founder of the family literacy initiative El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children's Day / Book Day ("Día") , now housed at the American Library Association. The year-long commitment to linking all children to books, languages and cultures, of sharing what Pat calls "bookjoy," culminates in celebrations across the country in April.

Pat is a popular national speaker shaped by the U.S.-Mexico border where she was born and spent much of her life. The mother of three adult children, Pat is married to Vern Scarborough and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.