Mary Helen Ponce- Biography Mary Helen Ponce, AKA Merrihelen Ponce, was born in Pacoima, California. She attended Pacoima Elementary, San Fernando High School, earned BA and MA degrees from California State University Northridge. She studied History at UCLA on a Danforth Fellowship, was awarded a UCSB Dissertation Fellowship, and obtained a Ph.D. from University of New Mexico (UNM). Dissertation: “Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, A Hispanic New Mexican Woman Writer: A Contextual Biography.” Ponce’s publications include Taking Control (1987) The Wedding (1980) and Hoyt Street: An Autobiography (1993). A research grant from Center for Regional Studies, University of New Mexico, funded the monograph: “The Lives and Works of Five Hispanic New Mexican Women Writers, 1878-1990.” A 1993 U.S.-Mexico Fund for Culture grant to research and write a book on Mexican Women writers is forthcoming. Ponce's work has been translated into French, German, Spanish and Romanian; she has presented her work at UNAM, El Colegio de Mexico, and published in Fem, Mexico's leading feminist magazine. She taught literature & creative writing at UCLA, and UNM. Ponce writes for Hispanic Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and is Book Editor: Saludos Hispanos. She is mother to Joseph, Ana, Mark and Ralph. Future works: “Las Emigrantes,” a historical novel of 18th Century pioneering women to Alta California; “Raising Albuquerque,” a play based on The Wedding, and an essay collection. She resides in Sunland, California. b Home ikjhgfacvbeafhvcbQ b Recognition b Current Works b Publication