Kathleen Alcalá (born August 29, 1954) is the author of a short-story collection, three novels set in the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and nineteenth-century

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and a collection of essays. She teaches creative writing at workshops and programs in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state and elsewhere, including

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

, the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

and Richard Hugo House.

Early life

Alcalá was born in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, in 1954 to Mexican parents. Her ancestry is from

Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

, including

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and Chihuahua; some of her great-grandparents lived in

Saltillo, Mexico Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

. She was raised Protestant. She is a descendant of

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

conversos A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert" (), was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of their descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian popula ...

with roots in

Nyer Nyer (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Nyer is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Nyer station ...

, France, and maintains a "relationship with Judaism". She applied for

Spanish citizenship The Spanish nationality legal framework refers to all the laws, provisions, regulations, and resolutions in Spain concerning nationality. Article 11 of the First Title of the Spanish Constitution refers to Spanish nationality and establishes ...

after the Spanish government began offering citizenship to Sephardi Jews expelled during the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

. Her grandmother was Opata Indian and

Irish Mexican Irish Mexicans ( or ; ) are inhabitants of Mexico that are immigrants from or descendants of immigrants from Ireland. The majority of Irish immigrants to Mexico were Catholic. History A few Mexican Irish communities existed in Mexican Texas pri ...

Career

Alcalá is also a co-founder of and contributing editor to ''The Raven Chronicles''. A play based on her

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

, '' Spirits of the Ordinary'', was produced by The Miracle Theatre of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She served on the board of Richard Hugo House and the advisory boards of Con Tinta, Field’s End and the Centrum Writers Conference. She is the winner of several awards for her writing, including an Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship in 2007. Alcalá resides on

Bainbridge Island, Washington Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 24,825 at the 2020 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. The island is s ...

Works

*''Mrs. Vargas and the Dead Naturalist'' (Calyx Books) *''Spirits of the Ordinary'' (Chronicle; Harvest Books) *''The Flower in the Skull'' (Chronicle; Harvest Books) *''Treasures in Heaven'' (Chronicle; Northwestern University Press) *''The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing'' (University of Arizona Press) *''The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island''

Bibliographical Resources

https://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mmartin-rodriguez/index_files/vhAlcalaKathleen.htm

Critical reception

Charles de Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, contemporary magical realism, and mythic fiction. Along with authors like Terri Windling, Emma Bull ...

, reviewing ''The Flower in the Skull'', declared that "Alcalá is fast becoming one of my favourite writers," praising her work for the "richness

f her F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

characterization and settings."Books to Look For
F&SF, January 1999

References

External links

Kathleen Alcalá's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala, Kathleen 1954 births Living people American former Protestants American historical novelists American people of Irish descent American people of French-Jewish descent American people of Spanish-Jewish descent American women short story writers American writers of Mexican descent American women science fiction and fantasy writers Hispanic and Latino American novelists Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women historical novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Novelists from Washington (state)