Growing up between San Diego and Tijuana, Francisco Bustos soon discovered that the border became an inspiration for him to become a writer.

“I started writing poetry in Spanglish, Ingleñol, English, and Spanish,” Bustos said. “Personal experiences in places like Tijuana, San Ysidro, Chula Vista, and the South Bay gave me lots of borderish things to talk about, from people, to environments, to foods, to art (especially in the writing and music worlds).”

Although his experiences were common in San Diego, he noticed that those experiences weren’t included in the literature courses he took as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student at San Diego State University’s creative writing program. So, as soon as he became a full-time English professor at Southwestern College, in Chula Vista, Bustos’ goal was to expose as many students as possible to border writers, authors who live in the border or who turn the border into the central theme in their writings.

As part of that mission, he has taught courses on Chicano, border, and Latin American literature. And, most importantly, he has made the Guest Writer Series at Southwestern College, a school with a majority of Latino students, more inclusive –and bilingual.

“I was always made to feel that I belonged and that the influence of border culture and region was important to my work in and out of the classrooms,” Bustos said.

Bustos, with the support of SWC World Languages Department, is organizing the 5th Annual Spring Literary Festival at Southwestern College starting on April 7th and running through early May. The literary festival will present a diverse series of readings from writers from all over San Diego, and Baja California.

“We are lucky to have writers write in our region, so rich and so meaningful,” Bustos said.

Among the writers visiting Southwestern College for the festival are Tim Hernandez, author of Mañana Means Heaven on April 10th, and several Tijuana poets visiting on April 8th. There will also be a science fiction writing workshop on May 1st.

“I think that when a college or university opens its doors, it validates the book, and students get to experience what writers are writing,” said Sonia Gutierrez, a poet who will be reading from her bilingual book Spider Woman / La Mujer Araña on Tuesday, April 8th.

Mel Freilicher, author of The Encyclopedia of Rebels on April 7th, said that Southwestern College is home to a vibrant literary community, with professors who have come out of the local creative writing programs.

“Since I teach at UCSD, I’ve noticed that some of the best literature students come from community colleges, because they have been nurtured there,” he said.

Although budget cuts at Southwestern College mean smaller stipends for visiting writers, and have also meant the cancelation of some literature courses, Bustos said that the English Department has managed to survive –in part because more and more students are taking courses to improve their writing, reading, and critical thinking skills.

“As long as people keep coming for more, we’ll be here teaching and helping students read some good literature and write essays about it; the same goes for creative writing,” he said. “Our English Department is one of the largest departments on campus. And even though most classes are required composition courses for students who are majoring in other fields of study or transferring to universities to get degrees other than English or Literature, once they take our courses, they end up better readers, writers, and above all, better thinkers.”

Furthermore, Bustos said that even students who are not majoring in English or literature, will enjoy readings during the Spring Literary Festival.

“Literature encompasses the human experience in endless ways,” he said. “Meaning can be drawn from it, leading to important insight, leading to learning.”

To find more information on Southwestern College’s 5th Annual Spring Literary Festival, please visit www.swccd. edu