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11 quotes by Matt de la Pena

Matt de la Peña De la Peña at the 2013 Texas Book Festival Born Pennsylvania, USA Occupation Writer and educator Nationality American Alma mater University of the Pacific San Diego State University Period 2005–present Genre Young-adult novels Website mattdelapena.com Matthew de la Peña is an American writer of children's books who specializes in novels for young adults.
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A surprising number of teens I meet in rougher schools around the country find refuge in novels and creative writing. It's not always the usual... →

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A lot of people ask me, 'Are you born a writer?' And I don't think it's necessarily true. I just think what you either have or you... →

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When I was young, I grew up in a family of working-class people. Not just my parents, but my extended family, as well.

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I used to be so angry about the kids that had stuff. Like the kids that had cars, the kids that had money to go get lunch every day off campus. I... →

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I was really drawn to spoken-word style poetry. I loved the rhythms, and for some reason, I was just drawn to this poetry as a way of expressing my... →

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Once I got into college, I discovered literature - in particular, multicultural literature. I just started to understand the power of story and... →

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I'm ashamed to admit this, but I didn't read a novel all the way through until after high school. Blasphemy, I know. I'm an author now.... →

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Even though I was a reluctant reader in junior high and high school, I found myself writing poems in the back of class.

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I've always wanted to write about the other side of the tracks, the have-nots, maybe because that's who I was.

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In all of my books, I really want to work with working-class people. My goal is to show the moments of grace and dignity in their lives.

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I think the world sort of looks to the kids who have potential. These are the kids who are going to do something with their lives, who are going to... →

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