A Pen, Books and Cats

by Julie Catalano

For those who know Bárbara Renaud González primarily as a former columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, meeting and talking with her is like peeling an onion—there is no end to the layers of depth to this self-described writer, journalist, social worker and witness.  And if there are any tears shed over her stories, they aren’t likely to be shed by this Panhandle-born daughter of a sharecropper who draws from her own life, times, and experiences to tell her stories of feminine strength, hope and survival.

Renaud’s 2009 debut novel, Golondrina, Why Did You Leave Me? was the first Chicana novel published by the University of Texas Press.  Nationally published award winner, NPR commentator, recipient of literary awards and grants—including one from the Artist Foundation of San Antonio to complete her Tex-Mex fairy tale La Pinky—González sums herself up on her colorful, evocative blog/web site:  “I am a writer, who has nothing but a pen, books and cats—a dangerous combination.”

She also has “lots of things to say,” adding a hearty laugh that occurs easily and often as she breezes from one topic to the next, speaking with verve and passion about, well, just about everything. When talking to someone like González—a literary outlaw in the best sense of the word—sometimes it’s best to let them do the talking.

On growing up in the Panhandle in the ’60s: “Those were very difficult years, the Latinos and whites were very polarized. I was a smart kid. The whites gave me a very hard time. I was basically chased and tortured and followed every day. But I don’t have a chip on my shoulder anymore. I realized we are all equal, we all have those moments of hate, and so I learned that in writing [Golondrina], I don’t hate anymore. A novel can’t heal you, but it can start you on that path.”

On her family’s reaction to Golondrina: “My two sisters loved it. My brothers don’t speak to me. One says I wrote lies. Well, it’s fiction.  That’s what fiction writers do. We write what we know. My mother would be very proud and scandalized. But happily scandalized. She would say, ‘You ruined me!’ But she’d love it.”

On her first column for the Express-News, entitled “Ay, Henry”: “The first line was, ‘I used to be in love with Henry Cisneros, but I’m too good for him now.’ It got like three weeks of letters [to the editor]. They asked me to write a column every month.”

On being fired from the Express-News: “I wrote a column after 9/11 where I challenged our invasion of Iraq. I don’t think it was one of my best columns. I was making a case against revenge, and it didn’t go over very well. It was the whole cloud of uber-patriotism and I said, wait a minute, aren’t we over there for democracy and the First Amendment? It wasn’t just me. Others got their walking papers too, all over the country.”

On men and women: “If we embrace [the feminine principle] in its complexity without the screen of what our commercial society says and our fathers say about what it is to be a woman, then we really understand that we are here to help others and make this world a better place, and not to participate in violent acts or to give solace to the violence in men. I think many times we do that because we love our spouses and partners.”

On art and relationships: “I think what happens is that partners unconsciously sabotage our dreams. I think it’s very hard for women because many times our partners don’t understand the time that art requires. My dreams always came last. I think my ex-husband respects that now. He is very supportive.”

On writing and creativity: “All I think about is stories. When you write creatively you are letting the soul speak, and all of it comes out. I want to write stories that matter, stories that will make people feel, and the rest doesn’t matter. The rest will take care of itself. If you tell your story as bravely as possible, whatever it is, it will take you places you never imagined.”