Gary Soto is a poet and author who was born in Fresno, CA, on April 12, 1952. He currently lives in Berkeley, CA. In talking about his writing, he said: Gary Soto "You can always spot bright people. They are reading a book." A lot of my work seems autobiographical, because I write a lot about growing up as a Mexican American. It's important to me to create and share new stories about my heritage. It's a huge part of my life. If you read my poems and stories, you might wonder which things really happened to me. As a writer, I like to make things up, as long as the actions of the characters are believable. There are many different types of writers. Some people like to write things that are factual and historical. For me, the joy of being a writer is to take things I see and hear and then rearrange them. I like to tamper with reality and create new possibilities. In short, not all my work is autobiographical, but it could be. (https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authors/gary-soto/) Gary Soto 43 The Crescent Berkeley, CA 94708 (510) 845 4718 http://www.fresnostatenews.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/Gary-Soto.jpg