Honoring Authors: Simon Ortiz |
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Back to the Honoring Authors main page Simon Ortiz (1941 - )Simon Ortiz was born in 1941 in a small village in the Acoma Pueblo homeland, west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He grew up speaking Keres, the language of his ancestors. Ortiz attended school in the village through sixth grade, and then he went to Indian boarding schools in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Ortiz attended college, but he left to serve in the army for three years; upon his return, he completed his bachelor’s degree and eventually earned a master’s degree in writing. It was while Ortiz was in his 20’s that he realized he wanted to have a career in writing. The poems and stories of Simon Ortiz are rooted in the oral tradition of the Acoma Pueblo people and, in fact, both of his parents were storytellers and singers of traditional songs. In Keres, “Acoma” means “white rock people” (aco = white rock, ma = people). As of the year 2000, the population of the Acoma pueblo and its surrounding areas was 2,802. Sources: “Acoma.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encylopedia Brittanica Online Library Edition. April 1, 2008. Avery, Susan and Linda Skinner. Extraordinary American Indians. Children’s Press, 1992. Additional Reading: Ruppert, James. “Ortiz’s ‘A Story of How a Wall Stands.’” Explicator, Winter 1997. Volume 55, Issue 2. Some of Simon Ortiz's Works:
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