Francisco Jiménez immigrated with his family to California from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and as a child, he worked in the fields of California. Jiménez’s semi-autobiographical book,
Cajas de Cartón, was published in 1997 and later translated into
The Circuit. The book won many awards from literary critics and social justice groups. Along with two other titles in the trilogy (
Breaking Through and
Reaching Out) Jiménez’s work has become a staple in classrooms nationwide, and has even been translated into Chinese and Japanese.
Francisco Jiménez is currently a Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University. He received his B.A. from Santa Clara and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Latin American literature from Columbia University. He has published and edited several books on Mexican and Mexican American literature, and his stories have been published in over 50 textbooks and anthologies of literature.
Source: “Dr. Francisco Jiménez: Short biography.” Santa Clara University. 2011.