Overview

Becoming Reinaldo Arenas explores the life and work of the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas (1943–1990), who emerged on the Latin American cultural scene in the 1960s and quickly achieved literary fame. Yet as a political dissident and an openly gay man, Arenas also experienced discrimination and persecution; he produced much of his work amid political controversy and precarious living conditions. In 1980, having survived ostracism and incarceration in Cuba, he arrived in the United States during the Mariel boatlift. Ten years later, after struggling with poverty and AIDS in New York, Arenas committed suicide. Through insightful close readings of a selection of Arenas's works, including unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, Olivares examines the writer's personal, political, and artistic trajectory, focusing on his portrayals of family, sexuality, exile, and nostalgia. He documents Arenas's critical engagement with cultural and political developments in revolutionary Cuba and investigates the ways in which Arenas challenged literary and national norms. Olivares's analysis shows how Arenas drew on his life experiences to offer revealing perspectives on the Cuban Revolution, the struggles of Cuban exiles, and the politics of sexuality.

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9780822353829

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Reviews

Clearly the product of years of research and reflection, this is by far the most thorough, persuasive, and profound account of Arenas's career to date. The author's mastery of writings by and about Arenas is impressive. The discussion of Arenas's fiction and nonfiction, focused on what Olivares calls 'paternal erotics, ' is always instructive and often quite brilliant. The use of Arenas's unpublished materials, including early drafts of published works, not only throws new light on his published fiction but allows the reader to become acquainted with a largely unknown corpus of writing. As in the best criticism, there is an intimacy between observer and observed that, without leading to uncritical appreciation, makes for a memorable reading experience. --Gustavo Perez Firmat, author of The Havana Habit

Author Information

Jorge Olivares is the Allen Family Professor of Latin American Literature at Colby College.

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