Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
About the Author
Benjamin Alire Saenz was born in 1954 in his grandmother's house in Old Picacho, a small farming village in the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was the fourth of seven children and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla Park. Later, when the family lost the farm, his father went back to show more his former occupation -- being a cement finisher. His mother worked as a cleaning woman and a factory worker. During his youth, he worked at various jobs -- painting apartments, roofing houses, picking onions, and cleaning for a janitorial service. He graduated from high school in 1972 and went on to college. He studied philosophy and theology in Europe for four years and spent a summer in Tanzania. He eventually became a writer and professor and moved back to the border -- the only place where he feels he truly belongs. show less
Image credit: Larry D. Moore
Series
Works by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Dog Who Loved Tortillas / La perrita que le encantaban las tortillas (A Little Diego Book) (English and Spanish… (2009) 57 copies
Grandma Fina and Her Wonderful Umbrellas / La Abuelita Fina y Sus Sombrillas Maravillosas (1999) 37 copies
The Aristotle and Dante Collection: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; Aristotle and Dante Dive… (2021) 17 copies
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, Aristotle and Dante Dive… (2021) 1 copy
He forgot to say good-bye 1 copy
Associated Works
Currents from the Dancing River: Contemporary Latino Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry (1994) — Contributor — 48 copies
Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas-Mexican Literature (Southwestern Writers Collection) (2006) — Contributor — 27 copies
Without Discovery: A Native Response to Columbus (Turning Point Series) (1992) — Contributor — 16 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Sáenz, Benjamin Alire
- Birthdate
- 1954-08-16
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Old Picacho, New Mexico, USA
- Places of residence
- El Paso, Texas, USA
- Education
- Las Cruces High School, Las Cruces, New Mexico
St. Thomas Seminary (BA | 1977 | Humanities and Philosophy)
University of Texas, El Paso (MA | Creative writing)
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Stanford University (Stegner Fellow)
University of Iowa - Occupations
- poet
novelist
writer
professor
parish priest - Organizations
- University of Texas at El Paso
Roman Catholic Church (ordained 1981) - Awards and honors
- Wallace E. Stegner Fellowship, poetry
Lannan Poetry Fellowship (1993)
PEN/Faulkner Book Award for Fiction (2013)
Pura Belpré Award (2013)
Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts (2022)
American Book Award (1992) (show all 10)
Southwest Book Award (1996)
Michael L. Printz Award (2013)
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award
Lambda Literary Award
Members
Discussions
Girl kidnapped from Mexico and taken to the U.S. in Name that Book (December 2012)
Reviews
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the… by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Almost perfect.
I might have liked this more as a physical book; as an audio book, it dragged.
ETA: I had a similar experience with [b:In the Dream House|43317482|In the Dream House|Carmen Maria Machado|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547869259l/43317482._SX50_.jpg|65787792]: unimpressive as an audiobook, engrossing as text. It might have something to do with poetic writing short chapters; I should someday try this one again.
ETA: I had a similar experience with [b:In the Dream House|43317482|In the Dream House|Carmen Maria Machado|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547869259l/43317482._SX50_.jpg|65787792]: unimpressive as an audiobook, engrossing as text. It might have something to do with poetic writing short chapters; I should someday try this one again.
I read this in one night—it was an intense, funny, and very readable portrait of two boys and their families. I feel compelled to compare it to A Separate Peace - the books have only a few elements in common but they seem to comment on one another.
Writing in first person, Saenz' pacing feels a little off, and the narrative style sometimes breaks conventional rules about showing vs. telling. I think this happened because he was listening to the voice of his character so intently, so it's not a grave fault.
The ending was not surprising, especially if you saw it reviewed, as I did, in professional magazines, but it was still very sweet.… (more)
Writing in first person, Saenz' pacing feels a little off, and the narrative style sometimes breaks conventional rules about showing vs. telling. I think this happened because he was listening to the voice of his character so intently, so it's not a grave fault.
The ending was not surprising, especially if you saw it reviewed, as I did, in professional magazines, but it was still very sweet.… (more)
Lists
Comfort Reads (1)
Best Beach Reads (1)
FAB 2021 (1)
READ IN 2021 (1)
BookTok Teen (1)
Carole's List (1)
Five star books (1)
Best Young Adult (1)
Bildungsromans (1)
READ IN 2022 (1)
Bullies (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 30
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 9,619
- Popularity
- #2,494
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 470
- ISBNs
- 173
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 4