Rudolfo Anaya

Rudolfo Anaya discusses Bless Me, Ultima.

Rudolfo Anaya- Author of Bless Me Ultima- Skype appearance (Videoconference) Tuesday, April 27th, 2010, 6:00 PM, Cal State East Bay, Meiklejohn Hall, Harder Rd. @ W. Loop Rd., Hayward, CA 94542 Mark your calendar for The Big Read keynote event — a larger-than-life conversation with renowned author Rudolfo Anaya, streaming live from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Old world storytelling meets new world technology in this cutting-edge event, hosted by Cal State East Bay. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see, hear, and interact with the inimitable Mr. Anaya. Learn the story behind his novel, Bless Me, Ultima, and the forces which shaped the author and his work. Event sponsored by Friends of the Hayward Public Library. Contact Sean.Reinhart@hayward-ca.gov or 510-881-7980 for further information. (Haywardlibrary)… (more)

Rudolfo A. Anaya

Our esteemed friend and author Rudolfo Anaya will return to Bookworks in July to sign two very special books! The first is his new book of stories from Oklahoma University Press, titled Rudolfo Anaya: The Essays ($24.95). We will also have the VERY LAST copies of the Farolitos of Christmas available for sale - this book has gone out-of-print and we have the last copies produced! Come get signed copies of both these great books and spend time with one of New Mexico's greatest authors.
About Rudolfo Anaya: The Essays
The first published collection of Rudolfo Anaya's essays "The storyteller's gift is my inheritance," writes Rudolfo Anaya in his essay "Shaman of Words." Although he is best known for Bless Me, Ultima and other novels, his writing also takes the form of nonfiction, and in these 52 essays he draws on both his heritage as a Mexican American and his gift for storytelling. Besides tackling issues such as censorship, racism, education, and sexual politics, Anaya explores the tragedies and triumphs of his own life.
Collected here are Anaya's published essays. Despite his wide acclaim as the founder of Chicano literature, no previous volume has attempted to gather Anaya's nonfiction into one edition. A companion to The Man Who Could Fly and Other Stories, the collection of Anaya's short stories, The Essays is an essential anthology for followers of Anaya and those interested in Chicano literature.
Pieces such as "Requiem for a Lowrider," "La Llorona, El Kookoóee, and Sexuality," and "An American Chicano in King Arthur's Court" take the reader from the llano of eastern New Mexico, where Anaya grew up, to the barrios of Albuquerque, and from the devastating diving accident that nearly ended his life at sixteen to the career he has made as an author and teacher. The point is not autobiography, although a life story is told, nor is it advocacy, although Anaya argues persuasively for cultural change. Instead, the author provides shrewd commentary on modern America in all its complexity. All the while, he employs the elegant, poetic voice and the interweaving of myth and folklore that inspire his fiction. "Stories reveal our human nature and thus become powerful tools for insight and revelation," writes Anaya. This collection of prose offers abundant new insight and revelation. (booksense)… (more)

Rudolfo A. Anaya

Rudolfo will be at Bookworks March 1 at 1 p.m. to celebrate the reissue of his book Shaman Winter by UNM Press. This third installment of Rudolfo Anaya's Sonny Baca mystery series has the private detective confined to a wheelchair. Brutal battles with his nemesis Raven have taken their toll and Baca is struggling to regain his health. Nights of fitful sleep and intermittent dreams introduce Owl Woman, one of Sonny's ancestors and the sixteenth-century daughter of a shaman. As Sonny sleeps, Raven abducts Owl Woman and soon, one by one, each of Sonny's forebears begin to disappear. Immobilizing Sonny physically was Raven's first goal; now he wants to destroy Sonny's soul by erasing his history. Be aware that if you only skate on the surface, you will miss the depth of the story. You have to dive head-first, literally, into the waves of poetic prose to catch a glimpse of the forces that keep our universe together."--La Voz "Shaman Winter is a creative, entertaining, spiritual, and wonderful mystery."--BookReview.com "The fast-paced story line of Shaman Winter is fascinating and absolutely eerie as the master paints a vivid picture of the spirituality of another culture."--Harriet Klausner, ThrillingDetective.com Rudolfo Anaya, widely acclaimed as one of the founders of modern Chicano literature, is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. Anaya was presented with the National Medal of Arts for literature in 2001 and his novel Alburquerque (the city's original Spanish spelling) won the PEN Center West Award for Fiction. He has also received the Premio Quinto Sol, the national Chicano literary award, the American Book Award from The Before Columbus Foundation, the Mexican Medal of Friendship from the Mexican Consulate, and the Western Literature Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award. He is best known for the classic Bless Me Ultima. (booksense)… (more)