Margarita Beatriz Escobar

What was your favorite book as a child?

When I was very young, my mother didn’t read much to me, but she sang beautiful Spanish lullabies when she put me to bed. The same lullabies I sang to my daughters when they were very little. But, unfortunately, I don’t have my mom's awesome voice, so my girls had to put up with my out-of-tunes melodies. When I was older, I enjoyed reading Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Marcela Paz’s Papelucho which was a classic among books for children in Chile.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

The love for writing runs in my family. I’m the third generation of writers and poets. I grew up listening to my grandfather and father reciting their own creations and the poems of our two great Chilean Nobel Prizes of Literature; Gabriela Mistral (1945) and Pablo Neruda (1971). During my adolescence, I started writing short stories and poems in Spanish which I continue doing today. Writing in English has been a huge challenge for me, but I enjoy it immensely.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

I have to say the most adventurous thing I did was to emigrate with my husband and 1-year-old daughter to a foreign country, not knowing the language, not knowing anyone, and with $500 in our pockets. Canada was extremely generous and welcomed us with open arms.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

I do like all types of music and I listen to it daily. But when I read or write I like something soothing, like instrumental melodies without lyrics.