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Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born 16 August 1954) is an award-winning American poet, novelist and writer of children's books.He was born at Old Picacho, New Mexico, the fourth of seven children, and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla, New Mexico. He graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1972. That fall, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado where he received a B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy in 1977. He studied Theology at the University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium from 1977 to 1981. He was a priest for a few years in El Paso, Texas before leaving the order.In 1985, he returned to school, and studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso where he earned an M.A. degree in Creative Writing. He then spent a year at the University of Iowa as a PhD student in American Literature. A year later, he was awarded a Wallace E. Stegner fellowship. While at Stanford University under the guidance of Denise Levertov, he completed his first book of poems, Calendar of Dust, which won an American Book Award in 1992. He entered the Ph.D. program at Stanford and continued his studies for two more years. Before completing his Ph.D., he moved back to the border and began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in the bilingual MFA program.His first novel, Carry Me Like Water was a saga that brought together the Victorian novel and the Latin American tradition of magic realism and received much critical attention.In The Book of What Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), his fifth book of poems, he writes to the core truth of life's ever-shifting memories. Set along the Mexican border, the contrast between the desert's austere beauty and the brutality of border politics mirrors humanity's capacity for both generosity and cruelty.In 2005, he curated a show of photographs by Julian Cardona.He continues to teach in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Texas at El Paso.
years of life: 16 August 1954 present

Quotes

fumi chanhas quotedlast year
So I renamed myself Ari.

If I switched the letter, my name was Air.

I thought it might be a great thing to be the air.

I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible. Everyone would need me and no one would be able to see me.
fumi chanhas quotedlast year
I liked hearing him laugh. It made things seem normal. A part of me thought things would never be normal again.
fumi chanhas quotedlast year
“Your smile is back.” That’s what Dante said.

“Smiles are like that. They come and go.”

Impressions

Meredith.shared an impression2 years ago
💡Learnt A Lot
💞Loved Up
🐼Fluffy

This is the most heartwarming books I’ve ever read! It was sort of sadder than the previous one but I do enjoy reading it. I love the way that Ari and Dante didn’t give up with their love. I can’t believe I finished this book. I’ll miss both of them. :(

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  • mishiareeze721shared an impression4 months ago
    🔮Hidden Depths
    🎯Worthwhile
    💞Loved Up
    👍Worth reading

  • unavailable
  • trishiashared an impression9 months ago
    💡Learnt A Lot
    💞Loved Up
    👍Worth reading
    🐼Fluffy

  • unavailable
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