Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro
Encyclopedia
Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro is a Puerto Rican
novelist, short story writer and essayist.
. 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, she published her first book of stories Origami de letras (Letter origami) and the following year published her first novel Los documentados (The documented) that depicts the 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 marginality from various points of view including eviction, solidarity, and spiritual barriers. This book was selected by El Nuevo Día
as one of the best in 2007. That same year she was chosen as one of the most important Latin American writers under 39 years of age as part of Bogotá39
convened by UNESCO
, the Hay Festival
and the Ministry of Culture in Bogotá
. She was the only representative from Puerto Rico.
She teaches creative writing workshops in San Juan
. She has been the recipient of several literary awards, national and internationally: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain and Puerto Rico. Her short story collection Ojos de Luna was awarded the National Literature Prize, Premio Nacional del Instituto de Literatura de Puerto Rico 2008. She regularly publishes articles and reviews in newspapers such as El Nuevo Día, El Vocero
, Claridad
and La Expresión. She belongs to the core team running the literary website CiudadSeva.com.
Arroyo Pizarro is also a LGBT
activist and frequently writes about LGBT issues in her work. She often uses her blog Boreales to discuss Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and other themes.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
novelist, short story writer and essayist.
Biography
Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro was born in GuaynaboGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
Guaynabo is a municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas; south of Cataño; east of Bayamón; and west of San Juan...
. 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
Cataño, Puerto Rico
Cataño is a municipality located on northern coast of Puerto Rico bordering the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent to the north and east by San Juan; north of Bayamón and Guaynabo; east of Toa Baja and west of Guaynabo and is part of the San Juan Metropolitan Area. Cataño is spread over 7 wards and...
. In 1989 she won the intra-university competition of the Bayamón Central University
Bayamon Central University
The Bayamón Central University —or Universidad Central de Bayamón in Spanish— is a private, catholic, and non-profit university in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
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, she published her first book of stories Origami de letras (Letter origami) and the following year published her first novel Los documentados (The documented) that depicts the migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
conditions in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, specifically from Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
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 marginality from various points of view including eviction, solidarity, and spiritual barriers. This book was selected by El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día is a Puerto Rican newspaper based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and distributed daily throughout Puerto Rico and some parts of the United States.- History :...
as one of the best in 2007. That same year she was chosen as one of the most important Latin American writers under 39 years of age as part of Bogotá39
Bogotá39
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...
convened by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, the Hay Festival
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...
and the Ministry of Culture in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. She was the only representative from Puerto Rico.
She teaches creative writing workshops in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. She has been the recipient of several literary awards, national and internationally: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain and Puerto Rico. Her short story collection Ojos de Luna was awarded the National Literature Prize, Premio Nacional del Instituto de Literatura de Puerto Rico 2008. She regularly publishes articles and reviews in newspapers such as El Nuevo Día, El Vocero
El Vocero
El Vocero is a Puerto Rican newspaper that is published in San Juan.Published since 1974, El Vocero was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing El Mundo and El Nuevo Día and leading The San Juan Star in sales...
, Claridad
Claridad
Claridad is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was first published in June, 1959. Claridad served as the official publication of the Pro-Independence Movement and later the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. The paper has been praised for its strong political and...
and La Expresión. She belongs to the core team running the literary website CiudadSeva.com.
Arroyo Pizarro is also a LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
activist and frequently writes about LGBT issues in her work. She often uses her blog Boreales to discuss Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and other themes.
Books
- 2003 Origami de letras, 2003, Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas, Puerto Rico.
- 2005 Los documentados, 2005, Editorial Situm, Puerto Rico.
- 2007 Ojos de luna, 2007, Terranova Editores, Puerto Rico.
- 2009 Historias para morderte los labios
- 2010 Cachaperismos: poesía y narrativa lesboerótica (lesbian erotic short stories and poems selection from lesbian authors)
- 2010 Caparazones (novel)
- 2010 Medialengua: moitié langue, petits poèmes et des histoires
Short stories
- "Las ballenas grises" (Primer Premio Certamen Pepe Fuera de Borda de Argentina 2006)
- "El coleccionista de latidos" (Primer Premio Certamen Pepe Fuera de Borda de Argentina 2005)
- "Orión", from Origami de letras
- "Virginia", from Origami de letras
- "Manos Dibujando", Revista Antropofagia, Argentina 2008
- "Fahrenheit" (story in Derivas.net)
- "Rapiña", (story in Letralia.com)
Poems
- Selected poems, Antología Mujer Rota, Lamujerrota.blogspot.com
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Bogotá39Bogotá39Bogotá39 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...
External links
- Boreales: Official Website