Contributor

Premiere of “Girl Rising”

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Marie and SennaGirl Rising is a groundbreaking film, written in part by Marie, and directed by Oscar nominee Richard Robbins. The segment on Senna, a little girl who lives in the highest habitation in the world—the Peruvian gold mining town of La Rinconada—was written by Marie after traveling 18,200 feet up into a remote corner of the Andes. The movie tells the stories of 8 more extraordinary girls from different countries, each one written by a celebrated woman writer. The film is narrated by 9 renowned actresses, among them Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, and Cate Blanchett. Girl Rising showcases the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world. Explore the film in detail at girlrising.com.

Watch a video in which Marie Arana talks about what it was like to meet Senna under a glacier-topped mountain in the gold mines of La Rinconada, Peru.

Also visit the fuller story.

EDUCATE GIRLS, CHANGE THE WORLD

Virginia Quarterly Review

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Marie has edited the Fall issue of the VQR (magazine published by UVA). Theme: “The Female Conscience,” featuring work by Jean Bethke Elshtain, Judith Warner, Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Earle, Mindy Aloff, Jonathan Yardley, Robin Marantz Henig, Reeve Lindbergh, Manal Al-Sharif, and many others. See more here.

Through the Eyes of the Condor: Spanish Edition

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A través de los ojos del cóndor

Una visión aérea de América Latina

De la Introducción por Marie Arana:

Los habitantes de América Latina son hijos de la tierra, ceramistas de arcilla, acarreadores de rocas. Desde el incanato hemos pensado, sin ninguna duda, que surgimos de la tierra como las semillas—que el suelo es nuestra madre y las fuerzas de la naturaleza que la alteran, nuestro padre. Que la vida en este hogar cambiante tiene igualmente la promesa de la abundancia como el impacto del cataclismo sísmico. La tierra nos puede alimentar o destruir. Somos a la vez los herederos bendecidos y maldecidos de una tierra generosa y feroz.

Tal vez por esa razón el inca amaba tanto al sol; por eso los mayas construyeron escaleras dirigidas hacia los cielos; y los conquistadores treparon las montañas para clavar crucifijos en lo alto. Queremos elevarnos. Que nos crezcan alas. Volar. Ansiamos lograr ver a través de los ojos del cóndor. . . .

National Geographic ISBN: 978-1-4262-0179-0

Stone Offerings: Spanish Edition

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De la Introducción por Marie Arana:

Nosotros los seres humanos anhelamos tocar con nuestras manos el cielo. Podemos estar atados a la tierra, pero, como lo supo el Inca, buscamos el Sol. Navegamos en los mares guiados por las estrellas. La luna marca nuestras estaciones. Subimos a montañas muy altas para situarnos en tierras elevadas. Bendecimos aquellos promontorios como si fueran lugares sagrados. Los llamamos moradas de los dioses. En ninguna parte es este impulso más evidente que en las alturas vertiginiosas de la cordillera de los Andes, donde hace más de quinientos años, el Inca perforó los cielos con una poderosa ciudadela de piedra. “Pico Antiguo” le llamaron. Machu Picchu. . . .

Edición bilingual. Lightpoint Press. ISBN: 978-0-9818812-0-1

Off the Page

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Writers Talk About Beginnings, Endings, and Everything In Between

Edited by Carole Burns, introduction by Marie Arana.

As host of “Off the Page,” a literary chat program on Washingtonpost.com, Burns has interviewed more than 40 authors-from Pulitzer Prize winners Edward P. Jones and Richard Ford to newcomers Doreen Baingana and Hannah Tinti-and here she collects those Q&A moments “when I knew I was hearing something extraordinary,” including A.S. Byatt noting that she sees her writing in blocks of color and Martin Amis referring to himself as a “yob.” (more…)

How I Learned English

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All over the world there are people struggling to master the quirks and challenges of English. In today’s America, many millions of them are Latino—and in this eloquent collection, nearly 60 of the best known contribute fascinating, revealing, often touching essays on the very personal process each went through to achieve this common end. (more…)