Victor Martinez (author)
Victor L. Martinez (February 21, 1954 – February 18, 2011) was a Mexican American poet and author. He won the 1996 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his first novel, Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida.[1]
Life
Martinez was the born in Fresno, California to migrant agricultural field workers of the Central Valley. He was one of twelve children.[2] Victor attended California State University at Fresno and later obtained a graduate degree from Stanford University on a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship. He began writing as a poet and published a book of poetry, "Caring for a House," in 1992. He was a member of Humanizarte, a collective of Chicano poets, and later of the Chicano/Latino Writers' Center of San Francisco.[3] He supported himself with jobs as a welder, truck driver, firefighter, teacher, and office clerk.[4] In February 2011, he died of lung cancer at age 56 in San Francisco.[5][6]
Parrot in the Oven
Martinez and his first novel Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida won a National Book Award in 1996.[1][7][8][9][10]
Parrot was a semi-autobiographical account of a 14-year-old Mexican American boy growing up "in a world of gangs, violence and poverty" in the projects of Central Valley (California).[3][6] Martinez wrote the novel for adults but an editor suggested promoting it in the young adult fiction market.[6] It has been translated into languages including Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and German, and widely acclaimed by young people around the world.
Works
Poetry
- Caring For A House, Chusma House Publications, 1992, ISBN 978-0-9624536-4-9
Novels
- El loro en el horno: mi vida, Noguer y Caralt, 2003, ISBN 978-84-279-3238-8
- Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida. HarperCollins. 1998. ISBN 978-0-06-447186-2.
Anthologies
- "I'm Still Alive; Failed Teachers; Sisters; A Tiny Man of Print". Poets of the new century. David R. Godine Publisher. 2003. ISBN 978-1-56792-178-6.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - Gerald W. Haslam, ed. (1999). "Don't Forget". Many Californias: literature from the Golden State. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-325-3.
References
- ^ a b
"National Book Awards – 1996". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
(With acceptance speech by Martinez.) - ^ Heather Smith (February 22, 2011). "Local Author Victor Martinez Dies". Mission Local.
- ^ a b Francisco X. Alarcon (February 21, 2011). "Victor Martinez, Chicano Poet/Author Passed Way Feb. 18, 2011". The Rumpus.
- ^ "Victor Martinez". Harper Collins.
- ^ Valerie J. Nelson (March 3, 2011). "Victor Martinez dies at 56; novel won National Book Award". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c Rick Bentley (February 25, 2011). "Author Victor Martinez dies at 56". Kansas city Star (McClatchy Newspapers).
- ^ "FRESNO NATIVE WINS LITERARY PRIZE: VICTOR MARTINEZ JOINS OTHER AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS INSPIRED BY THE VALLEY". The Fresno Bee. November 8, 1996.
- ^ "VICTOR MARTINEZ'S TRIUMPH: THE WRITER'S DEEP VALLEY ROOTS PRODUCE A WELL-DESERVED NATIONAL BOOK AWARD". The Fresno Bee. November 9, 1996.
- ^ Elizabeth Farnsworth (November 7, 1996). "Elizabeth Farnsworth converses with first time novelist and National Book Award winner Victor Martinez". NPR.
- ^ Kevin Davis (October 9, 2002). "Mission District Scribe to Speak". Guardsman: City College of San Francisco.
External links
- Victor Martinez at Library of Congress, with 3 library catalog records
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- 1954 births
- 2011 deaths
- American children's writers
- 20th-century American poets
- American writers of Mexican descent
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners
- Writers from Fresno, California
- California State University, Fresno alumni
- Stanford University alumni
- Deaths from lung cancer
- Deaths from cancer in California
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American poets
- American male novelists
- American male poets
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- American novelist, 1950s birth stubs