Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro | |
---|---|
Born | Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro 29 October 1970 |
Nationality | Puerto Rican |
Occupation(s) | Novelist, short-story writer and essayist |
Awards | Premio Nacional del Instituto de Literatura Puerto-rriqueña (2008); Premio del Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico (2012) |
Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro (born 29 October 1970) is a Puerto Rican novelist, short-story writer and essayist.
Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro was born on 29 October 1970 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and was raised by her grandparents, Petronila Cartagena and Saturnino Pizarro. [1] She began writing at an early age in school newsletters and newspapers and won drawing and essay competitions at the Colegio San Vicente Ferrer in Cataño. In 1989, she won the intra-university competition of the Bayamón Central University with the story "Vimbi Botella." In 1990, she directed a play entitled ¿A dónde va el amor? (Where Does Love Go?) based on her own script, which was staged in Barrio Amelia, a poor neighborhood in Guaynabo where the author was raised.
In 2004, Arroyo published her first book of short stories Origami de letras (Letter Origami). The following year, she published her first novel Los documentados (The Documented), which deals with migration conditions in the Caribbean, specifically from Hispaniola to Puerto Rico. This novel won the PEN Club Prize for 2006. In 2007, she published a new book of short stories, Ojos de Luna (Moon Eyes), in which she explores the ways in which eviction, solidarity, and spiritual barriers marginalize people. The book was selected by El Nuevo Día as one of the best in 2007 [2] and was a finalist in the Puerto Rican Literature National Award. [1] That same year, she was chosen as one of the most important Latin American writers under 39 years of age [2] as part of Bogotá39, convened by UNESCO, the Hay Festival, and the Ministry of Culture in Bogotá. [1] She was the only representative from Puerto Rico. [2]
In 2011, Salón Literario Libroamérica de Puerto Rico selected Arroyo Pizarro's new book, Caparazones, as the best new novel and the same year she was awarded a writer-in-residency grant by the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Latina Writers Convention recognized her short story "Los cojones de una mujer sin pecho" at their 2012 convention. Arroyo Pizarro's body of work consists of two novels, three collections of poetry, nine short-story books, and contributions to more than two dozen anthologies, [1] among them New Daughters of Africa , edited by Margaret Busby (2019). [3] Arroyo has broadcast as a radio host of Kooltureate for Bonita Radio and is the Chief Editor of the literary journal Revista Boreales. In addition to her own publications, she regularly contributes to newspapers such as Claridad , La Expresión, El Nuevo Día , and El Vocero . [2] She has served as a member of the jury for the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Award Guadalajara International Book Fair for several years. [1]
Arroyo Pizarro frequently writes about LGBT issues in her work and has participated with other writers and activists in the LGBTTIQ and African-descent communities in conferences and symposia held in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela. [1] [4] In 2014, she and her partner, Zulma Oliveras Vega, joined the same-sex marriage case Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Armendariz. [4] When the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the island's marriage ban was unconstitutional, [5] Arroyo Pizarro and Oliveras Vega became the first same-sex couple to marry in Puerto Rico. [6] [7]
Arroyo Pizarro has been published in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Guatemala, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Denmark, Hungary, and France. Her work has been translated into English, Italian, French, and Hungarian. [8]
Mayra Santos-Febres is a Puerto Rican author, poet, novelist, professor of literature, essayist, and literary critic and author of children's books. Her work focuses on themes of race, diaspora identity, female sexuality, gender fluidity, desire, and power. She is a cultural activist who helps to bring books to young readers and the less fortunate. Her writings have been translated into French, English, German, and Italian.
Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano was a Puerto Rican writer, poet, and essayist. Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico and the founding father of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970 during her father's term as governor, Rosario fulfilled the duties of First Lady until 1972.
Puerto Rican literature is the body of literature produced by writers of Puerto Rican descent. It evolved from the art of oral storytelling. Written works by the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico were originally prohibited and repressed by the Spanish colonial government.
Dr. Antonio S. Pedreira, was a Puerto Rican writer and educator.
Mayra Montero is a well-known Cuban-Puerto Rican writer.
Ana Lydia Vega is a Puerto Rican writer.
Olga Nolla was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, journalist, and professor.
Magali García Ramis is a Puerto Rican writer.
Delma S. Arrigoitia was a historian, author, educator, and lawyer whose written works covered the life and works of some of Puerto Rico's most prominent politicians of the early 20th century. After earning her doctorate in history at Fordham University in New York, she helped develop the graduate school for history at the University of Puerto Rico and taught there for many years.
Bogotá39 was a collaborative project between the Hay Festival and Bogotá: UNESCO World Book Capital City 2007 in order to identify 39 of the most promising Latin American writers under the age of 39. The judges for the contest were three Colombian writers: Piedad Bonnett, Héctor Abad Faciolince and Óscar Collazos. The success of this project led to a similar project two years later called Beirut39, which selected 39 of the most promising writers from the Arab world. Africa39 followed in 2014.
Lourdes Vázquez is a Puerto Rican poet, fiction and essayist writer and a resident of the United States. Her poetry, short stories and essays have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. Her many collections, which have been translated into English and Italian by writers such as Bethany Korps-Edwards, Rosa Alcalá, Enriqueta Carrington and Brigidina Gentile have received excellent reviews. She is Librarian Emeritus of Rutgers University.
Janette Becerra is a Puerto Rican poet, writer, teacher and literary critic. She obtained an MA in comparative literature and a Ph.D. in Spanish literature at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She has been a professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey since 2000.
Johanny Vázquez Paz is a Puerto Rican poet, narrator and professor.
Ena Lucía Portela is a Cuban novelist, essayist, and short story writer. She focuses on lesbian subjects.
Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón is an author born in Puerto Rico in 1986. He has written three novels, Palacio, Dicen que los dormidos, and Los días hábiles. In 2017 he was named one of Bogota Hay Festival's 39 authors under 40.
Lina Meruane Boza is a Chilean writer and professor. Her work, written in Spanish, has been translated into English, Italian, Portuguese, German, and French. In 2011 she won the Anna Seghers-Preis for the quality of her work, and in 2012 the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for her novel Sangre en el ojo.
Nery Santos Gómez is a Venezuelan-American author.
Pilar Quintana is a Colombian writer. She was born in Cali and studied at the Javeriana University in Bogota. In 2011 she attended the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa as a writer-in-residence, and in 2012 the International Writers Workshop of the Baptist University of Hong Kong as a visiting writer. She has published five novels and a short story collection, Caperucita se come al lobo. She is best known for her novels La Perra and Coleccionistas de polvos raros.
Zugey Lamela is a Puerto Rican journalist and news presenter. She is the anchor of the investigative news program, Telemundo Responde. In 2019, Lamela won a Suncoast Emmy Award for her investigative reporting.