A Summer Life

Author Gary Soto
Look inside
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99 US
On sale Aug 01, 1991 | 160 Pages | 9780440210245

Gary Soto writes that when he was five "what I knew best was at ground level." In this lively collection of short essays, Soto takes his reader to a ground-level perspective, resreating in vivid detail the sights, sounds, smells, and textures he knew growing up in his Fresno, California, neighborhood. The "things" of his boyhood tie it all together: his Buddha "splotched with gold," the taps of his shoes and the "engines of sparks that lived beneath my soles," his worn tennies smelling of "summer grass, asphalt, the moist sock breathing the defeat of basesall." The child's world is made up of small things--small, very important things.
Born in Fresno, California, to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multitalented author are many, ranging from the US Award for International Poetry Forum to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and was nominated for a National Book Award. His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Mariko, in Berkeley, California. View titles by Gary Soto

About

Gary Soto writes that when he was five "what I knew best was at ground level." In this lively collection of short essays, Soto takes his reader to a ground-level perspective, resreating in vivid detail the sights, sounds, smells, and textures he knew growing up in his Fresno, California, neighborhood. The "things" of his boyhood tie it all together: his Buddha "splotched with gold," the taps of his shoes and the "engines of sparks that lived beneath my soles," his worn tennies smelling of "summer grass, asphalt, the moist sock breathing the defeat of basesall." The child's world is made up of small things--small, very important things.

Author

Born in Fresno, California, to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multitalented author are many, ranging from the US Award for International Poetry Forum to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and was nominated for a National Book Award. His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Mariko, in Berkeley, California. View titles by Gary Soto

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more