Jorge Reyes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Jorge (Ivan) Reyes (b. 1971) is a Cuban-born American author known for authoring books in several genres. He is an honor graduate (1993) of Barry University, from which he has a B.A. in history, a B.S in political science, and a minor in literature concentrating mostly on philosophy's influence on values as represented in literature.
[edit] Early life
Born in Santiago de Cuba, Reyes left Cuba with his parents via Costa Rica, before settling permanently in Miami in 1982.
[edit] Part I: Writing
Reyes has written books in several genres of literature: biography, fiction, non-fiction, comedy, children's books, poetry.
Most of what is known about Reyes's childhood was penned down by Reyes himself in his most successful book yet, Rediscovering Cuba: A Personal Memoir, published in 2001.
In it, he talks about his childhood days in a small town called Boniato. The book itself was prompted by a family emergency that prompted Reyes, his mother and an aunt to revisit the country they had left behind almost twenty years before. The book's thematic format, not auto-biographical in itself, was highly influenced by the literary school known as Magical Realism, but which Reyes used effectively to expound real life experiences. Reyes's method of choosing to write his Cuban memoirs displayed some advanced writing skills, mainly:
1) The ability to utilize a wide array of genres to create an eclectic and unique writing skill; 2) The ability to write in multiple genres almost on a simultaneous basis- jumping from memoirs to poetry to kids' books to short-stories, but to name a few.
In 2002, Reyes addressed the 2002 Miami International Book Fair giving a lecture on Cuban literature. Almost within months, in 2003, Reyes surprised his readership by publishing, among other things, a book of poems titled, My Words Mean Something, which didn't seem to please the critics nor his fans.
However, what this book demonstrated was Reyes's ability to write in a totally different voice from what was expected and, in fact, deconstruct what is expected of a writer's voice. Similarly, this collection included poems that were highly minimalistic in structure and at the same time highly compressed in form, maximizing each word with multiple meanings. The next few years Reyes slowed down a seemingly prolific writing career, halting unexplicably the publication of some books slated for publication, "Caramelo's Dream".
No explanation has been given to account for Reyes's sudden halt in his writings after 2003, though publicly it was rumored that he was simply maturing into his craft by seeking other literary interests, concentrating mostly on the essay format to expound, again, on a variety of subject-matters of particular interest to him, mainly on art and politics. Of these, there was a proliferation in many subject matters. Again, always demonstrating Reyes's penchant for diversity in his writings, these essays are known as much for their refreshing approach to their topic as much as for their eclectically-drawn conclusions, if not often penned with a confrontational style.
Finally, in 2005, after more than four years since a major publication, a long-promised book of poems Day's Night, written in 2003, was announced to be publication in 2007.
Day's Night is a collection of poems about "a self-examined look at a love affair gone sour," with illustrations by the reclusive artist Neith Nevelson. The Reyes/Nevelson duo was described as one of the strangest cooperations in literary history, but one which, nonetheless, seems to have pleased some if pre-publication reviews are any indication of a book's worth. Aside from Reyes's terse comments about the book's topic, he's refused to discuss much about the personal affair that prompted him to write about the book. For someone who has always been extremely guarded about his private matters, the choice to write it while refusing to discuss it at the same time publicly seems to be the personal bafflements and complexities that many readers encounter, and seem to find fascinating, about Reyes's quality as a writer.
[edit] Part II: Other Interests
Though born into a Catholic family, Reyes has written strongly against religion, while at the same time he's professed feeling torn between "the agnostic's way", or as he calls it, the simultaneous guilt between theism and atheism. Early in his college days, Jorge Reyes was remotely associated with the American Atheists Organization, founded by the famed atheist activist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair (b.1911-1995?). O'Hair's untimely abduction and murder in 1995 cancelled Reyes's association with American Atheists, Inc., which included a book translation into English from Spanish, plus a variety of other publication documents.
.
Reyes lives in South Florida.
[edit] Bibliography
- Guia Para Descubrir Tu Cuerpo (Your Body) (2000) ISBN 0-939193-55-8
- Rediscovering Cuba: A Personal Memoir (2001) ISBN 0-595-19457-5
- My Words Mean Something (2003) ISBN 0-595-22311-7
[edit] Forthcoming Books
- Day's Night, with Neith Nevelson (Illustrator) (2006)
- City Hall is Murder (2007/8)
- Caramelo's Dream (2007) ISBN 0-595-26859-5
- Rape: simply a story (2007)
[edit] External links
- The Official Web for Jorge Reyes.
- [1] Latin Biz Magazine, featuring an article on Reyes.
- On Author Jorge Reyes from a local community newspaper in South Florida.
- Weblink to the 2002 Miami International Book Fair.
