Latin American Writers Series - Interview with Achy Obejas
Over the next few years, the Latin American Writers Series will showcase the most representative writers of the continent and serve as an archive of their achievements. Ecuadorian writer and Tulane’s Greenleaf Scholar-in-Residence, Gabriela Alemán will conduct in-depth interviews with authors that address a territory defined by massive migrations, multiple forms of violence, economic precariousness and environmental struggles. These authors – from different generations, countries and traditions – will describe their lives, influences and the mechanisms that tie their interests and concerns with their writing. The interviews will serve to feed a digital archive that will reflect and preserve how writing and publishing takes place in Latin America today. In Spring 2019, the featured authors are Achy Obejas, Yuri Herrera and Claudia Hernández.
Durante los próximos años, la serie Latin American Writers reunirá lo más representativo de la escritura continental y producirá un archivo de las experiencias y logros de estos escritores. La escritora ecuatoriana y “Greenleaf Scholar-in-Residence” de Tulane, Gabriela Alemán realizará entrevistas con una docena de autores cuyos trabajos se movilizan en territorios marcados por migraciones masivas, múltiples violencias, precariedad económica y luchas medioambientales. Surgiendo de varias generaciones, países y tradiciones, los autores hablarán sobre sus vidas, influencias y los mecanismos que vinculan sus intereses y preocupaciones con sus escrituras. Las entrevistas servirán para alimentar un archivo digital que reflejará como se escribe y se publica en América Latina hoy en día. En la primavera de 2019, los autores entrevistados serán Achy Obejas, Yuri Herrera and Claudia Hernández.
Join us for the interview in Spanish in the Greenleaf Conference Room, 100-A Jones Hall at 5:30 PM.
Achy was born in Havana, in 1956. She is a poet, novelist, journalist, translator, and teacher. When she was six years old, she and her family immigrated to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. Her published books of poetry, short fiction and novels include: We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress like This? (1994), Memory Mambo (1996), Days of Awe (2001), Ruins (2009), Aguas y otros cuentos (2009), This is What Happened in Our Other Life (2009) and The Tower of the Antilles & Other Stories (2017). Memory Mambo and Days of Awe won Lambda Awards. Obejas is also an accomplished journalist; she worked at the Chicago Tribune for more than ten years, and her articles have been featured in a variety of publications, including the Village Voice, Vogue, and the Nation. She has translated more than twenty books, amongst them: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz, 2007) into Spanish and the works of Wendy Guerra and Rita Indiana, amongst many others, into English. She is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is the former Sor Juana Visiting Writer at DePaul University. She currently lives in Oakland, where she is the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Mills College.
