Nicholasa Mohr
Nicholasa Mohr, born on November 1, 1938, in Spanish Harlem, New York, is a celebrated author known for her poignant portrayals of the Puerto Rican experience through the lens of girls and young women. As the daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, her writing reflects the social challenges faced by women in Latino culture, particularly regarding sexual equality, which situates her work within the broader context of Latin American feminism. Mohr's first novel, *Nilda* (1973), follows a nine-year-old Puerto Rican girl navigating life during World War II, mirroring elements of Mohr's own childhood experiences.
Her stories often address themes of social adversity, racism, and gender-based discrimination, featuring characters from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Mohr’s artistic background in graphic design and painting, including influences from graffiti, informs her unique narrative style. New York City itself serves as a vibrant backdrop for her characters’ journeys, emphasizing their relationship with the urban landscape.
Throughout her career, Mohr has produced several notable works, including short story collections like *El Bronx Remembered* and *In Nueva York*, as well as children's literature that embraces Puerto Rican culture. Today, her contributions to literature remain significant, and she continues to engage with audiences through lectures and adaptations of her work.
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Subject Terms
Nicholasa Mohr
- Born: November 1, 1938
- Birthplace: Spanish Harlem, New York
Author Profile
The daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, Nicholasa Mohr, documents life in New York City’s barrios. Mohr examines the Puerto Rican experience from the perspective of girls and young women. Her female characters face multiple social problems associated with the restrictions imposed upon women by Latino culture. The struggle for sexual equality makes Mohr’s literature central to Latin American feminism.
Mohr’s characters are integral to her realistic portrayal of life in a barrio. The parallels between her characters and her own experience are evident. The protagonist of her groundbreaking and highly praised first novel Nilda (1973), Nilda Ramírez, is a nine-year-old Puerto Rican girl who comes of age during World War II. She also becomes an orphan and is separated from her immediate family. There are close parallels between these events and those of Mohr’s life. In other stories as well, girls must face, alone, social adversity, racism, and chauvinistic attitudes. Characters of all sexual orientations and gender identities also frequently appear in her work, as they, like girls or young women (especially those who have little or no family), have often been similarly subjected to mistreatment in the male-dominated Puerto Rican culture.
Mohr, who originally intended to be a graphic artist and painter, studied at the Brooklyn Museum Art School from 1955 to 1959 and at the Pratt Center for Contemporary Printmaking. Her advocacy for the social underclass is visible in her visual art, which includes elements of graffiti. Her use of graffiti in her art attracted the attention of a publisher, who had acquired several of her paintings. Believing that Mohr had a story to tell, the publisher convinced her to write a short autobiographical piece on growing up Puerto Rican in New York. Many changes later, that piece became Nilda, which earned several prizes. Mohr has also drawn pictures for some of her literary works, but she largely abandoned her graphic career to focus on writing.
New York City is as important to Mohr’s writing as her Puerto Rican characters. The city, with its many barrios, provides a lively background to her stories. Her short-story collections El Bronx Remembered (1975) and In Nueva York (1977) stress the characters’ relationship to New York City. Mohr’s work can be described as cross-cultural, a careful and artistic portrait of Puerto Rican culture in New York City. She quickly became one of the most notable voices in "Nuyorican" literature, especially in her attention to women's experiences. Her short stories have been included in many anthologies and subjected to much discussion, including "The English Lesson" from In Nueva York. Her later works included Rituals of Survival: A Woman's Portfolio (1985), the children's book Going Home (1986), and A Matter of Pride (1997). In 1995, Mohr published a children's book, The Song of el Coquí and Other Tales of Puerto Rico, which tells the story of the blended culture of people of Puerto Rican descent. In the twenty-first century, Mohr's works remain relevant. Mohr appeared as a guest lecturer at several colleges and conferences. She continued to translate her works into stage-worthy versions. Mohr’s novels, short stories, and poetry explore complex themes about Puerto Rican identity, the immigrant experience, and life in New York City.
Bibliography
Belén, Edna Acosta. "Nicholasa Mohr." Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico, 23 May 2021, en.enciclopediapr.org/content/nicholasa-mohr. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
"Hostos Hosts A Celebration Of Nicholasa Mohr On 40th Anniversary Of Her Award-Winning Book, El Bronx Remembered." Hostos Community College, 13 Apr. 2015, www.hostos.cuny.edu/Home-Page-Content/News/Hostos-Hosts-A-Celebration-Of-Nicholasa-Mohr-On-40. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Mohr, Nicholasa. In Nuevo York. Dial, 1977.
"Nicholasa Mohr." MacDowell, www.macdowell.org/artists/nicholasa-mohr. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Perry, Ana. "Antonio Martorell and Nicholasa Mohr." National Portrait Gallery, z.ossprod.si.edu/blog/antonio-martorell-and-nicholasa-mohr. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Rico, Barbara Roche. "'Rituals of Survival:' A Critical Reassessment of the Fiction of Nicholasa Mohr." Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 28, no. 3, Sept. 2007, pp. 160–79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=28559116&site=ehost-live. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
Zarnowski, Myra. "An Interview with Author Nicholasa Mohr." Reading Teacher, vol. 45, no. 2, Oct. 1991, pp. 100-106, EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=9111182142&site=ehost-live. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.