Benjamin alire saenz biography channel

PERSONAL: Calved August, 16, , in Hold tight Picacho, NM; son of Juan Villanueva Sáenz (a cement finisher) and Eloisa Chavez Alire (a cook); married Patricia Macias, Education: St. Thomas Seminary, B.A., ; University of Louvain, Belgique, M.A. (theology, ; University slope Texas at El Paso, M.A.

(creative writing), ; also deceitful the University of Iowa paramount Stanford University.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Even-handedly, University of Texas, El Paso, West University Ave., El Paso, TX [email&#;protected].

CAREER: Writer. University exert a pull on Texas, El Paso, assistant prof of English, teacher of imaginative writing.

AWARDS, HONORS: Wallace E.

Stegner fellowship, Stanford University, ; Indweller Book Award, Before Columbus Scaffold, , for Calendar of Dust; Lannan Literary fellowship, ; Outdistance Children's Book, Texas Institute fence Letters, , for A Dowry from Papá Diego and Gran Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas,

WRITINGS:

Flowers for the Broken (short stories), Broken Moon Press,

Carry Me Like Water (novel), Titan,

The House of Forgetting (novel), HarperCollins (New York City),

A Gift from Papá Diego/Un Regalo de Papá Diego, (juvenile), expressive by Geronimo Garcia, Cinco Puntos Press (El Paso, TX),

Grandma Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas/La Abuelita Fina y sus sombrillas maravillosas, (juvenile), illustrated by Apache Garcia, Cinco Puntos Press (El Paso, TX),

(Author of story) Que linda la brisa, photographs by James Drake, poem induce Jimmy Santiago Baca, University model Washington Press (Seattle, WA),

POETRY

Calendar of Dust, Broken Moon Test,

Dark and Perfect Angels, Cinco Puntos Press (El Paso, TX),

Elegies In Blue, Cinco Puntos Press (El Paso, TX),

Contributor to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Far-out third children's book, titled The Dog Who Loved Tortilla.

SIDELIGHTS: Patriarch Alire Sáenz is a bard and fiction writer who has won particular praise for coronate expressions of Mexican-American life rise the United States.

Theresa Meléndez, writing in the Dictionary possess Literary Biography, noted that depiction author's "work is set immovably in the tradition of Chicano literature of displacement, utilizing English themes of questioned identity household conflict, reverence for place, take class conflict." She also distinguished, "The strengths and weaknesses inducing Chicano family life are in all probability the strongest undercurrents in fulfil Sáenz's work."

Sáenz's first publication was Calendar of Dust, a kind of poems that articulate, hoot Roberto Bedoya stated in Rapacious Mind Review, the "experiences take injustice, both personal and organized, specific to Native American stream Mexican-Americans." Among the subjects clutch Sáenz's poems are childhood, illustriousness mistreatment of Native Americans saturate the U.S.

government, and honourableness human capacity to overcome burden. This debut volume includes position poems "Ring of Life," which concerns the author's vision funding the birth-deathrebirth cycle, and "Walking," a complex work integrating undiluted hymn to the earth sustain a chronicle of one individual's self-illuminating journey.

Calendar of Dust meaning Sáenz as an ambitious recent poet.

Bert Almon, writing in Western American Literature, cited what he saw as shortcomings plug the author's style, but as well declared that Sáenz "appears consign to be an author with significant, interesting stories to tell." Bedoya, in Hungry Mind Review, experimental that "the momentum of Sáenz's poems never escapes the reputable sadness that resounds throughout [Calendar of Dust]," but he along with described Sáenz as a poetess whose work "is honest, mercantile and keen in the make-up of a poetry of lament."

In Sáenz produced his second bulk, the short-story collection Flowers look after the Broken. These tales, capture largely in the contemporary Indweller southwest, concern Mexican Americans, on the contrary the themes of the symbolic are essentially universal.

"Obliterate rendering Night," for example, is significance story of a wealthy female who regrets having rejected proscribe impoverished but loving student bit favor of a wealthier, on the contrary emotionally shallow man embodying loftiness Anglo-Saxon cultural ties that she desired. And in the headline tale, a young woman spends a day delivering flowers near comes to realize that she must break free from justness influence of her man-hating be silent and make her own decisions.

Paul J.

Ferlazzo, writing in Butter up American Literature, acknowledged the dub story in Flowers for significance Broken as "a good case of Sáenz's ability as erior effective and moving storyteller," keep from added that "the same have a feeling and honesty about the riders and contradictions of life evacuate present in every story encircle the volume."

Sáenz followed Flowers make public the Broken with his prime novel, Carry Me Like Water, which depicts a host pale characters inhabiting the border township of El Paso, Texas.

Deception among the characters are Region Elena, who has rejected disown Mexican-American culture and moved converge California but who later gain home to find Diego, show deaf-mute brother; Diego himself, top-notch poor laborer endlessly rewriting orderly suicide note; Elena's husband, Eddie, who is searching for emperor own long-lost brother, Jake, who has, in turn, been obsessed from the home of their wealthy but abusive parents; give orders to Maria Elena's friend, Lizzie, who has been misled by complex shamed adoptive parents into prominence she is Anglo-Saxon instead relief Mexican American.

Lizzie is reliable to leave her body once in a while through astral projection. These stomach other characters, as Melita Marie Garza wrote in Tribune Books, "run around trying to physique out who they really conniving at the risk of failure something more dear than their country of residence: their souls."

Garza further described Carry Me Approximating Water as "at once large and fantastic in tone." She added that the novel deference "strange and hot, but bin is never dull, desolate foregoing poor." Another reviewer, Norma Hook up.

Cantu, was likewise impressed, print in the Washington Post Tome World of Sáenz's "evocative prose" and his "ability to relate a story using not separate voice, but many." Cantu hailed Carry Me Lke Water trade in "a significant addition to illustriousness growing body of Chicano data and to American literature adjoin general."

In Sáenz published a following verse collection, Dark and Top off Angels. In this volume, representation author once again writes ingratiate yourself clashing Anglo-Saxon and Mexican-American cultures in the American southwest.

"Family history is interspersed with internal wars, border conflicts, racism, viral disease and alcoholism but anticipation treated with affection, humor, enthusiasm, strength, and grace," wrote Meléndez in the Dictionary of Learned Biography.

In The House of Forgetting Sáenz tries his hand dislike genre writing in the variation of a psychological thriller zigzag also delves into the arrogance between oppressor and oppressed.

Phase in revolves around the kidnapping hillock Gloria Santos at age septet by a respected professor have a phobia about humanities at a local academy. The professor holds her hoodwink for the next twenty-three adulthood yet provides her with brainstorm upbringing that includes a expansive education and other upper-class accessories. Gloria finally escapes from class professor when she is cardinal years old, and the chronicle goes on to explore Gloria's efforts to come to grips with her ordeal and brew love-hate relationship with her former captor.

Sáenz next wrote two bilingualist books for young readers, Span Gift from Papá Diego/Un Regalo de Papá Diego, and Gran Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas/La Auelita Fina y sus sombrillas maravillosas, both illustrated by Apache Garcia.

In A Gift give birth to Papá Diego, Sáenz tells high-mindedness story of a young girlhood living in the United States who, despite the obstacles, wants to visit his grandfather, Papá Diego, in Chihuahua, Mexico. Skilful contributor to Publishers Weekly styled the book "engaging" and disentangle "emotionally satisfying family story." Annie Ayres, writing in Booklist, commented that the book was smart sensitive and honest portrayal staff the lives of many Mexican Americans and that it "bridges the borders that separate keep happy families who must live far-off apart from their loved ones."

Sáenz's third book of poems, Elegies in Blue, continues with her highness primary themes of politics celebrated the Mexican-American border community, plus ruminations on history, family, tell death.

In the book, blooper unites his efforts in narration writing and poetry by component poems that are, for primacy most part, in prose epileptic fit. "Sáenz casts a tone several lament, sometimes subtly and again overtly, over most of ethics subject matter," wrote Lawrence Olszewski in Library Journal. In Booklist, reviewer Ray Olson said make certain the verse and prose poetry are "distinguished by simple mellifluousness, clear imagery, and effortless equation of the oracular and rendering personal voices."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume Chicano Writers, Third Series, Theresa Meléndez, "Benjamin Alire Sáenz," Big (Detroit, MI), , pp.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, , p. 24; April 1, , pp. ; May 1, , Annie Ayres, review of A Gift escape Papá Diego, p. ; Feb 15, , Ray Olson, con of Elegies in Blue, p.

Horn Book, July-August, , Elena Abos, review of A Dowry from Papá Diego, p.

Hungry Mind Review, fall, , pp.

56,

Library Journal, July, , Lawrence Olszewski, review of Elegies in Blue, pp.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, Respected 23, , p.

Nation, June 7, , pp.

New Advocate, spring, , review of Nanna Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas, p.

Publishers Weekly, January 23, , p. 43; April 24, , p. 57; July 31, , p. 74; January 19, , review of A Tribute from Papá Diego, p.

School Library Journal, October, , regard of Grandma Fina and Bitterness Wonderful Umbrellas, p.

Tribune Books (Chicago), August 20, , proprietor. 5.

Washington Post Book World, Sept 17, , p.

Western American Literature, Nov, , pp. ; February, , pp.

ONLINE

University of Texas level El Paso, (January 27, ), "Faculty Profiles."*