Ed Vega
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Edgardo Vega Yunqué | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 0, 1936 Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Occupation | novelist, professor |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Writing period | 1977- |
| Genres | novel, short story |
| Notable work(s) | The Comeback (1985) Mendoza's Dreams (1987) No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cause Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again: A Symphonic Novel (2003) |
| Notable award(s) | PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award |
| Spouse(s) | (married) |
| Children | Suzanne Vega (stepdaughter) |
|
Influences
|
|
 Literature portal |
|
Ed Vega (1936- ) is the pen name of Edgardo Vega Yunqué, a Puerto Rican novelist and short-story writer.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Vega was born in Ponce and lived in Cidra, Puerto Rico until his family moved to the South Bronx in 1949. Even as a child, he loved to read, and became familiar with many of the great European works.[1] After graduating from high school in 1954, Vega joined the United States Air Force. [2] During his leave time, Vega read American literature, after finding a large collection of books at his sister's house.[1] After his time in the Air Force, he attended Santa Monica College, and eventually got his degree from New York University. He dropped out of school after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and began working in East Harlem as part of the war on poverty. He has also stated that he has been heavily influenced by Holocaust literature and by the concern of the Irish members of his childhood neighborhood for the independence and reunion of their native country.[1]
He has focused on writing since 1972,[2] and published his first short story, "Wild Horses" in Nuestra Magazine in 1977.[1] He has written 14 novels and 3 story collections.[1] He says that he often works on several books at once and has no problem keeping track of them:
Since my work is about people and my affection for them, I don’t lose track of who they are just like I don’t lose track of my children or other relatives and acquaintances. I have friends--and characters--who I don’t see for a long time, but as soon as we get together we pick up where we left off.[1]
He has taught creative writing at the Latin American Writers Institute and at the New School for Social Research, as well as at Hostos Community College, Hunter College, and SUNY Old Westbury.[2] He has also served as Director of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center.[3]
He is also the stepfather of Suzanne Vega.
[edit] Selected works
- "Wild Horses." Nuestra Magazine, 1977.
- The Comeback. Houston: Arte Público, 1985.
- Mendoza's Dreams. Houston: Arte Público, 1987.
- Casualty Report. Houston: Arte Público, 1991.
- No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cause Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again: A Symphonic Novel. New York: Farrar, 2003. excerpt online
- The Lamentable Journey of Omaha Bigelow into the Impenetrable Loisaida Jungle. Woodstock and New York: Overlook, 2004.
- Blood Fugues. New York: Rayo, HarperCollins, 2005.
- Rebecca Horowitz, Puerto Rican Sex Freak. Expected Summer 2008 from Overlook-Penguin.[4] excerpt online
[edit] Awards
- PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award (2004) for No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cause Bill Bailey Ain't Never Coming Home Again: A Symphonic Novel[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Official bio on his website
- ^ a b c biography by Antonia Domínguez Miguela
- ^ Carmen Dolores Hernández. "Ed Vega." Puerto Rican Voices in English: Interviews with Writers, Praeger-Greenwood, 1997. p.197. (accessed through Google Book Search)
- ^ Author's website promo
- ^ Author's website
[edit] Further reading
- Binder,Wolfgang. "Interview: Ed Vega." American Contradictions: Interviews with Nine American Writers. Eds. Wolfgang Binder and Helmbrecht Breining. Hanover and London: Wesleyan UP, UP of New England, 1995, 125-142.
- ---. "A Hispanic Voice of Satire: Ed Vega’s Portrait of the Puerto Rican Community." Voix et Langages aux Etats-Unis. Tome I. Ed. Serge Ricard. Aix-en-Provence: Univ. de Provence, 1993, 229-243.
- Hernández, Carmen Dolores. "Ed Vega." Puerto Rican Voices in English: Interviews with Writers. Wesport: Praeger, 1997, 196-225.
- Pérez, Richard. "Literary Pre/occupations: An Interview with Puerto Rican Author Edgardo Vega Yunqué." Centro Journal 18.1 (2006): 188-205.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Latin American Writers Institute at Hostos CC
- Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center
- Vega's biography on his website
  |
This American novelist article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
