GAAH Press Club attends GVSU Writers Series

The GAAH Press Club recently visited Grand Valley State University to see author Reyna Grande speak about her new book. Below they reflect on the experience. 

 

Antonio

On March 25, The Andy Angelo and the cub reporters went to Grand Valley State University to hear a professional writer speak. The writer's name is Reyna Grande. She was born September 7, 1975. She went to the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has written many books, but the one which has more influence in the community of Latinos is "The Distance Between Us."

The place where the event was held was packed with students from GVSU. All around, you could see students writing notes, reading a book, using their phones, all the cliche things you would see in a college presentation.

After everybody has gotten settled in their seats, there was a moment of silence, and the presentation has started. A women walked up to the podium, she started to read a speech to introduce Reyna Grande. When she finished, she let Grande up to the stage. She started to talk about how she had cross the border when she was a mere child. She also talked about how her father was already in the United States and how he had to cross the border again and pick her up. Also she explained how her experience helped her write "The Distance Between Us" and another book.

 

Edgar

On March 25, 2014, Reyna Grande went to Grand Valley State University to talk about her book “The Distance Between Us.”

Grande is a woman born on September 7, 1975. She went to university at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is a Mexican immigrant author that is best known for her award winning of “American Book Awards.”

 

Jose

The wheels on the bus go round and round. I could tell that song was going on Jose’s mind on the way to Grand Valley State University, and by the look on his face, it seemed like he was having fun on the bus trip. It was a long bus trip to Grand Valley. Jose was starving the whole way there.

As soon as everybody got off the bus, some students recognized some of their friends from school who also went to the meeting. All of the kids got in the building and went straight to the presentation. They got in their seats and had their ears ready. The little room was pack with people. Mostly 80% of them were Grand Valley students. As everyone started to get quiet, someone was talking. She was talking about the Latin culture and its struggles. After she was done, everyone clapped, and she started to present Reyna Grande. All students were ready to hear what she was going to say.

Grande started talking and everything she has said started to reflect the things that are true about the struggles of coming all the way from her Latin country to the United States. She told us that she came here with her father at first the U.S. and how challenging it to come from one place to another. She also mentioned how the book was made and her stories with her siblings. All of them were funny—never expected it to be like that. She started her writing her first book in high school. She published it and her second one.

 

Kamarria

On March 25, 2014, Reyna Grande came to Grand Valley State University. There she told about her book “The Distance Between Us” and her life. She told about the hardships she faced when her father left and later her mother to go to the United States, and she and her siblings had to wait and wait until her father came for them. And then she had to learn a new language and learning the American customs.

Reyna Grande is a mother and an author who emigrated from Mexico to The United States. She was born on September 7, 1975. She went to college at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a Mexican author that is best known for her American book award. She said that when she was writing her book “ The Distance Between Us,“ it took her ten years because during the first two years, she wrote down all her feelings and she said that writing her feelings down that it made her understand things that she never realized before or understood and made her realize that her parents did the things they did to help her and her siblings. And the rest of those years was her writing her book and editing.

She said when she was editing she shows no mercy. Someone in the crowd asked a question about her book and when she answered, she said she went through a lot of phases of editing, and she said she cut about 30 pages because she said that is there anything informing the reader or am I ( Reyna Grande) just telling you something that was already said again? And she said that there were parts that she mentioned in her book that she cut because it was something that wasnʼt informing the reader.

When at Grand Valley State University, we were in a kind of conference room. It was really crowded with college students. Before the event started, there was a lot of talking and there was a slide show telling about Grande and thanking whoever helped out with the event and so on. Then a lady came up and introduced the speaker who would introduce Grande. Although Grande had a very difficult life and her having to have to wait such a long period for her father to come and arrive to get her and her siblings to come to the United States, she still has become a very successful author.