Uncoiling
Mexican-American author Pat Mora has pub-
lished several books of poetry, including the 2001
collectionUncoiling, which includes the poem by
that title. She has published a well-regarded mem-
oir,House of Houses, which describes how she
became an author while growing up in a bilingual
area of Texas near the Mexican border where
literacy was not valued. Mora’s fame comes from
the many award-winning books she has written
for children, which often describe the joys and
difficulties of cultural blending. Mora is an activist
forliteracyandforgenderequality,andhersocial
concerns are often present, if understated, in her
writings for both adults and for children.
The poem ‘‘Uncoiling’’ presents its ideas on
many layers. On the simplest level, it is a descrip-
tion of a tornado as it approaches, shakes a house,
and then moves on. Mora describes the tornado
with feminine adjectives and images, though, so
the suggestion is that the violent natural force is
like a woman. Unstated but clear is the admiration
that the poet expresses for this force, as well as for
thewomenwhobravethestorm:Thisisathearta
poem about the strength of women, though the
poet does not need to force that point to make it.Author Biography
Patricia Mora was born in El Paso, Texas, on
January 19, 1942. Her father, Rau ́Antonio Mora,
was an optician, and her mother, Estela Delgado276
PAT MORA
2001