Pablo Medina
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pablo Medina is a
Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
poet and novelist, Professor in the Department of Writing, Literature, and Publishing at
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
and Director of its MFA Program.


Biography

Medina was born in
Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
and emigrated to New York City in 1960. He received an M.A. degree from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. ''Pork Rind and Cuban Songs'' (1975), Medina’s first collection of poems, was the first publication by a Cuban author written directly from the English language. His memoir, ''Exiled Memories'' (1990), was the first of several autobiographical accounts to be published from the generation of Cubans who emigrated to the United States after the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
. Medina chronicles early memories from his childhood in Cuba as well as his arrival in New York City; the memoir is a personal reflection on his own self-identity, irreconcilably divided between
Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...
and
American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...
. Among his recent publications are a collection of translated poems by
Virgilio Piñera Virgilio Piñera Llera ( Cárdenas, Cuba, August 4, 1912 – Havana, October 18, 1979) was a Cuban author, playwright, poet, short story writer, essayist and translator. His most notorious works are the poem ''La isla en peso'' (1943), the collec ...
, ''The Weight of the Island: Selected Poems of Virgilio Piñera'' (2015) and a collection of original poems, ''Island History: Poems'' (2015), ''The Cuban Comedy'' (2019).


Awards and honors

*President,
Association of Writers & Writing Programs The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a nonprofit literary organization that provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly 50,000 writers, 500 college and university creative writing programs, and 125 writers' c ...
(AWP) Board of Directors, 2005-2006 *
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
Fellowship in
Bellagio, Italy Bellagio (; lmo, label= Comasco, Belàs ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is located on Lake Como, also known by its Latin-derived name ''Lario'', whose arms form an inverted Y. T ...
, June 2004 *Distinguished Visitor at the
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...
, 1995-1996 * Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fellowship in Creative Nonfiction, 1993-1994 *
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
Fellowship Grant in Poetry, 1991 *Jenny McKean Moore Writer-in-Washington,
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...
, 1990-1991 * Oscar B. Cintas Foundation Fellowship Grant in Poetry and Fiction, 1979


Works

*''The Cuban Comedy. The Unnamed Press, 2019.'' *''Island History: Poems'' (poems). Hanging Loose, 2015.
''The Weight of the Island''
(poems in translation). Diálogos Books, 2015. *''Calle Habana'' (poems). PhotoStroud, 2013.
''Cubop City Blues''
(novel). Grove/Atlantic, Inc, 2012.
''The Man Who Wrote on Water''
(poems). Hanging Loose Press, 2011.
''Poet in New York/Poeta en Nueva York''
(poems in translation, with Mark Statman). Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2008.
''The Cigar Roller''
(novel). Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2005; Spanish Ed., 2005; paperback, 2006.
''Points of Balance/Puntos de apoyo''
(poems). Four Way Books, 2005. *''Puntos de apoyo'' (poems in Spanish). Editorial Betania, 2002.
''The Return of Felix Nogara''
(novel). Persea Books, 2000; paperback, 2002.
''Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood''
(memoir). University of Texas Press, 1990; revised paperback ed., Persea Books, 2002.
''The Floating Island''
(poems). White Pine Press, 1999. Arabic Ed., 2008. *''The Marks of Birth'' (novel). Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994; German Ed., 1995; French Ed., 1998; paperback, Persea Books, 2003.
''Arching into the Afterlife''
(poems). Bilingual Review/Press, 1991. *''Everyone Will Have to Listen'' (poems in translation, with C. Hospital). Linden Lane Press, 1990 *''Pork Rind and Cuban Songs'' (poems). Nuclassics and Science, 1975


See also

*
Cuban American literature Cuban American literature overlaps with both Cuban literature and American literature, and is also distinct in itself. Its boundaries can blur on close inspection. Some scholars, such as Rodolfo J. Cortina, regard "Cuban American authors" simply as ...
*
List of Cuban-American writers See also * Cuban American literature * List of Cuban writers * List of Cuban women writers * List of Cuban Americans * Before Columbus Foundation References Bibliography * (Anthology; includes writer biographies) * (Anthology; include ...


References


External links

*Author website
pablomedina.org
*Robert Kralovec interview with Pablo Medina a
Slice Magazine
(2013) *Derek Alger interview with Pablo Medina a
Pif Magazine
(2012) *Interview with Pablo Medina a
Redivider
(2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Pablo Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Cuban poets 20th-century Cuban novelists American people of Cuban descent 21st-century Cuban poets Cuban male poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers 21st-century Cuban novelists Cuban male novelists