Reinaldo Arenas
Reinaldo Arenas (Reinaldo Arenas Fuentes) was born on July 16th, 1943. Reinaldo passed away December 7th, 1990 at 47 years old. Reinaldo Arenas was born in Aguas Claras, Holguín, Oriente region, Cuba.
Reinaldo Arenas was a Cuban playwright, novelist, and poet who is best known for his chronicles of his life in exile and his work in Latin American literature.
After dropping out of college, he got a job with
Biblioteca Nacional Jose Marti. It was while he was there that his talent came to light and he won several awards including First Honorable Mention for his work
His Hallucinations in 1966.
By 1967, Arenas was writing more about his life as a gay man and this resulted in conflicts with the government of Communist Cuba. The following year, he got a job with the
Cuban Book Institute, even as he also worked for
La Gaceta de Cub, the literary magazine where he was an editor and journalist.
In 1973, Reinaldo Arenas was charged and convicted of ideological deviation, and sent to prison. Following his escape from prison, he tried to escape Cuba but failed and was arrested. He was then sent to prison alongside rapists and murderers at the infamous
El Morro Castle.
Reinaldo continued to write in prison but he was severely punished when he was discovered trying to smuggle his work out of prison. Upon his release from prison in 1980, he fled to the US where he continued to speak and write against the Cuban government.
After battling AIDS for several years, he died of an alcohol and drug overdose in late 1990.
In 1989, Reinaldo Arenas published the novel
Old Rosa.
In the first part of the work, readers are introduced to a young shrewd, proud, tall woman named Rosa. Everything in her life begins to crumble when her son joins the Castro rebellion and she finds her youngest in bed with another teen.
In the second story of the novel, the youngest son is sent to a homosexual camp set up by Castro. To survive, he begins writing on torn-off scraps of paper and paper bags hoping that through his creativity he can preserve his dream of love and beauty.
In 1991, Arenas published
The Doorman, a work that tells the story of Juan a twenty-something-year-old from Cuba who is working as a doorman in New York. He tries his best to have good relations with the diverse people in the apartment block but over time, his efforts both alienate and irritate him as the residents do not seem to notice any good that he does.
Related Authors
The most common authors followed by users who also follow Reinaldo Arenas are:
- Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
- Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
- Charles Dickens, author of the novel: A Christmas Carol.
- Jane Austen, author of the novel: Pride and Prejudice.
- Terry Pratchett, author of the novel: Good Omens.
Reinaldo Arenas: F.A.Q
When was Reinaldo Arenas Born?
Reinaldo Arenas was born on July 16th, 1943.
When did Reinaldo Arenas die?
Reinaldo Arenas died on December 7th, 1990 at 47 years old.
Where was Reinaldo Arenas Born?
Reinaldo Arenas was born in Aguas Claras, Holguín, Oriente region, Cuba.
What was the first book Reinaldo Arenas wrote?
The first book written by Reinaldo Arenas was Singing from the Well, published in 1967.
What was the most recent book Reinaldo Arenas wrote?
His most recently released work was Autoepitaph: Selected Poems on July 14th, 2014.
How many books has Reinaldo Arenas written?
Reinaldo Arenas has written 12 books excluding contributions to anthologies. 5 books in the Pentagonía Series, 4 Standalone Novels, 2 books in the Collections, 1 book in the Non-Fiction Books.