Heather Jeronimo, a 2003 graduate of Plainview High School, recently saw her book “Performing Parenthood: Non-Normative Fathers and Mothers in Spanish Narrative and Film” published by the University of Toronto Press in August.
“It’s a dream experience,” Jeronimo said. “I just can’t believe it happened.”
Jeronimo’s book is meant for an academic audience and is a deep dive into the wonderful world of literature and film in 20th and 21st century Spain.
In her book, Jeronimo studies and discusses the different representations of family in those pieces of literature and film. Jeronimo found examples of families that don’t fit into what society would consider “normal”, such as families with gay parents, non-biological parents, or cross-cultural families, and notes how those films and pieces of literature represents them.
“We all have a family,” Jeronimo stated. “All families look different. This is an academic topic that everyone can relate to.”
Jeronimo’s topic of discussion in her book stems from numerous things, including the fact that she received her masters and P.H.D. in Spanish, Language, and Literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“(The book) started as dissertation research for my P.H.D.,” she recalled. “I was always interested in the concept of family. What I’ve seen in literature and film, no two families look alike. They’re kind of like snowflakes. Family is fascinating because they do all of these things. They can be a support system, they can be a site of trauma, they can be a site of violence. Family is a very complicated concept to try and understand. I wanted to dive into that and be a part of the conversations.”
So that’s exactly what Jeronimo did. Her words and expressive takes on the subject matter will now live forever in the form of “Performing Parenthood: Non- Normative Fathers and Mothers in Spanish Narrative and Film.”
Jeronimo’s talents don’t just stop at writing, however, as writing isn’t currently even her fulltime position. She is also an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), something she, admittedly, never saw herself becoming.
“When I went into undergrad, I had three majors,” she admitted with a laugh. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Everything was interesting. I just knew I loved school. It took a while for it to dawn on me that I can make a career out of being in school by becoming a professor.”
So again, that’s what she did, and the UNI is where she currently resides.
“UNI has been wonderful,” she said. “The market is small right now, so it’s kind of an understanding in academic circles that you just have to move where jobs are. I wasn’t expecting to get to stay close to my family, but I found this job. I have great colleagues, students, and I’m only five hours from my parents.”
Living only five hours away from her parents, Roger and Debra Hoffart, and her hometown of Plainview is a positive for Jeronimo, as she gave plenty of credit to the town she grew up in.
“It (growing up in Plainview) absolutely helped me,” she stated. “I grew up on a farm. Living in the country and having that space to do a lot of reading was wonderful. I had space to read, be creative, and imagine. The Plainview librarians were also very instrumental. They inspired my love for reading. I remember they would always ask me what books I wanted them to order.”
Jeronimo also made sure to give credit to her high school Spanish teacher, Claudia Schultze
“Claudia was absolutely amazing,” she recalled. “She opened my eyes to a different way of seeing the world. That allowed me to go on and pursue Spanish.”
With her first book now officially published and out to the public, Jeronimo has a clear-set plan for the future.
“There will definitely be more books in the future,” she admitted. “I’m actually working on an anthology right now. I have a coeditor, and we’re writing a book on cultural representation in queer aging in literature and film in Spain. Not a lot of people talk about it, I’m excited to dive into it.”