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Improved grammar and punctuation, added links, and information about the Luiselli's 2020 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for her novel Lost Children Archive.
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'''Valeria Luiselli''' (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican author living in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/valeria-luiselli-the-novelist-all-your-smart-friends-are-talking-about|title=Valeria Luiselli: The Novelist All Your Smart Friends Are Talking About|website=Broadly.vice.com|first=Lauren |last=Oyler|date= September 15, 2015|accessdate= December 14, 2016}}</ref> She is the author of the book of essays ''Sidewalks'' and the novel ''[[Faces in the Crowd (novel)|Faces in the Crowd]]'', which won the [[Los Angeles Times]] Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Luiselli's 2015 novel ''The Story of My Teeth'' was a finalist for the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] and the [[Best Translated Book Award]], and won the [[Los Angeles Times Book Prize]] for Best Fiction, and the was awarded the [[Blue Metropolis#Awards#Premio Metropolis Azul|Premio Metropolis Azul]] in [[Montreal|Montreal, Quebec]]. Luiselli's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, with her work appearing in publications including, ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Granta]]'', ''[[McSweeney’s]]'', and ''[[The New Yorker]]''. Her most recent book, ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/18/mexican_writer_valeria_luiselli_on_child|title=Mexican Writer Valeria Luiselli on Child Refugees & Rethinking the Language Around Immigration|website=Democracynow.org|date= April 18, 2017|accessdate= May 17, 2017}}</ref> was a finalist for the [[Kirkus Reviews#Kirkus Prize|Kirkus Prize]] in Nonfiction and the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] in Criticism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coffeehousepress.org/products/tell-me-how-it-ends|title=Tell Me How It Ends|website=Coffee House Press|access-date= March 10, 2018}}</ref> Luiselli's 2020 novel, ''Lost Children Archive'' won the [[Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction {{!}} Awards & Grants|url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult|access-date=2020-09-10|website=www.ala.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=SZALUSKY|date=2020-01-26|title='Lost Children Archive,' 'Midnight in Chernobyl,' receive 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction|url=http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/01/lost-children-archive-midnight-chernobyl-receive-2020-andrew-carnegie-medals|access-date=2020-09-10|website=News and Press Center|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced|url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/2020-andrew-carnegie-medal-winners-announced/|access-date=2020-09-10|website=American Libraries Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''Valeria Luiselli''' (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican author living in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/valeria-luiselli-the-novelist-all-your-smart-friends-are-talking-about|title=Valeria Luiselli: The Novelist All Your Smart Friends Are Talking About|website=Broadly.vice.com|first=Lauren |last=Oyler|date= September 15, 2015|accessdate= December 14, 2016}}</ref>


⚫
In 2014, Luiselli was the recipient of the [[National Book Foundation|National Book Foundation's]] "5 under 35" award. In 2019, she won a [[MacArthur Fellowship]], also known as a MacArthur "Genius Grant".<ref name="MacArthur">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/arts/macarthur-genius-grant-winners-list.html|title=MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant Winners for 2019: The Full List|newspaper=The New York Times|first= Jennifer|last= Schuessler|date= September 25, 2019|access-date= September 25, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, the [[Vilcek Foundation]] awarded her a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://vilcek.org/prizes/prize-recipients/valeria-luiselli/|title=Valeria Luiselli|website=Vilcek Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref> and the [[Folio Prize]].<ref name="FP">{{cite web|title=Rathbones Folio Prize|url=https://www.rathbonesfolioprize.com/|date=2020-03-23|accessdate=2020-03-23}}</ref>
⚫
She is the author of the book of essays ''Sidewalks'' and the novel ''[[Faces in the Crowd (novel)|Faces in the Crowd]]'', which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her 2015 novel ''The Story of My Teeth'' was a finalist for the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] and the [[Best Translated Book Award]], and won the [[Los Angeles Times Book Prize]] for Best Fiction, and the [[Blue Metropolis#Awards#Premio Metropolis Azul|Premio Metropolis Azul]] in Canada. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages, with her work appearing in publications such as ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Granta]]'', ''[[McSweeney’s]]'', and ''[[The New Yorker]]''. Her most recent book, ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/18/mexican_writer_valeria_luiselli_on_child|title=Mexican Writer Valeria Luiselli on Child Refugees & Rethinking the Language Around Immigration|website=Democracynow.org|date= April 18, 2017|accessdate= May 17, 2017}}</ref> was a finalist for the [[Kirkus Reviews#Kirkus Prize|Kirkus Prize]] in Nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coffeehousepress.org/products/tell-me-how-it-ends|title=Tell Me How It Ends|website=Coffee House Press|access-date= March 10, 2018}}</ref>

⚫
In 2014, Luiselli was the recipient of the [[National Book Foundation]] "5 under 35" award. In 2019, she won a [[MacArthur Fellowship]], also known as a MacArthur "genius" award.<ref name=MacArthur>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/arts/macarthur-genius-grant-winners-list.html|title=MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant Winners for 2019: The Full List|newspaper=The New York Times|first= Jennifer|last= Schuessler|date= September 25, 2019|access-date= September 25, 2019}}</ref> In 2020, she was awarded a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature by the [[Vilcek Foundation]]<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://vilcek.org/prizes/prize-recipients/valeria-luiselli/|title=Valeria Luiselli|website=Vilcek Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref> and the [[Folio Prize]].<ref name=FP>{{cite web|title=Rathbones Folio Prize|url=https://www.rathbonesfolioprize.com/|date=2020-03-23|accessdate=2020-03-23}}</ref>


Luiselli is a member of the [[Inter-American Dialogue]].
Luiselli is a member of the [[Inter-American Dialogue]].


==Career==
==Career==
After earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]], Luiselli moved to New York City to dance. She eventually studied comparative literature at [[Columbia University]], where she completed a Ph.D.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laic.columbia.edu/programs/recent-dissertations/ |title=Recent Dissertations |website=Columbia.edu|accessdate= December 16, 2019}}</ref> She teaches literature and creative writing at [[Bard College]], collaborates as a writer with a number of art galleries, and has worked as a librettist for the [[New York City Ballet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dailygazette.com/article/2010/07/03/0703_nycbwheeldon?print|first=Geraldine |last=Freedman |title=NYCB Preview: Ginastera's music inspired Wheeldon to create 'Estancia'|newspaper=The Daily Gazette|date= July 3, 2010|accessdate= August 27, 2017}}</ref> She served as a juror for the [[Neustadt International Prize for Literature]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neustadtprize.org/the-neustadt-prize/neustadt-jurors-1970-present/|title=All Neustadt Prize Jurors (1970 – present)|website=The Neustadt Prize|access-date= March 25, 2019}}</ref>
After earning a bachelor's degree in [[Philosophy]] from the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]], Luiselli moved to New York City to dance. She eventually studied comparative literature at [[Columbia University]], where she completed a Ph.D.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laic.columbia.edu/programs/recent-dissertations/ |title=Recent Dissertations |website=Columbia.edu|accessdate= December 16, 2019}}</ref> She teaches literature and creative writing at [[Bard College]], collaborates as a writer with a number of art galleries, and has worked as a librettist for the [[New York City Ballet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dailygazette.com/article/2010/07/03/0703_nycbwheeldon?print|first=Geraldine |last=Freedman |title=NYCB Preview: Ginastera's music inspired Wheeldon to create 'Estancia'|newspaper=The Daily Gazette|date= July 3, 2010|accessdate= August 27, 2017}}</ref> She served as a juror for the [[Neustadt International Prize for Literature]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.neustadtprize.org/the-neustadt-prize/neustadt-jurors-1970-present/|title=All Neustadt Prize Jurors (1970 – present)|website=The Neustadt Prize|access-date= March 25, 2019}}</ref>


Several of Luiselli's books are based in real-world experiences. ''The Story of My Teeth'' (2015) was first written in serial for workers in a [[Jumex]] juice factory in Mexico as part of a commission from Galería Jumex.<ref name=":0" /> Her nonfiction work ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'' (2017) is based on her experiences volunteering as an interpreter for young Central American migrants seeking legal status in the United States.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/521791352/tell-me-how-it-ends-offers-a-moving-humane-portrait-of-child-migrants|title='Tell Me How It Ends' Offers A Moving, Humane Portrait Of Child Migrants|website=NPR |first=John|last=Powers|date =April 6, 2017|access-date= March 10, 2018}}</ref> The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism in 2017.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/arts/valeria-luiselli-lost-children-archive.html|title=Valeria Luiselli, at Home in Two Worlds|last=León|first=Concepción de|date= February 7, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date= March 25, 2019}}</ref> Her work with asylum-seeking children from Latin America also informs the central theme in her 2019 novel ''Lost Children Archive''.<ref name=":1" />
Several of Luiselli's books are based in real-world experiences. ''The Story of My Teeth'' (2015) was first written in serial for workers in a [[Jumex]] juice factory in Mexico as part of a commission from Galería Jumex.<ref name=":0" /> Her nonfiction work ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'' (2017) is based on her experiences volunteering as an interpreter for young Central American migrants seeking legal status in the United States.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/521791352/tell-me-how-it-ends-offers-a-moving-humane-portrait-of-child-migrants|title='Tell Me How It Ends' Offers A Moving, Humane Portrait Of Child Migrants|website=NPR |first=John|last=Powers|date =April 6, 2017|access-date= March 10, 2018}}</ref> The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism in 2017.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/arts/valeria-luiselli-lost-children-archive.html|title=Valeria Luiselli, at Home in Two Worlds|last=León|first=Concepción de|date= February 7, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date= March 25, 2019}}</ref> Her work with asylum-seeking children from Latin America also informs the central theme in her 2019 novel ''Lost Children Archive''.<ref name=":1" />


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Luiselli was born in Mexico City, and moved to [[Madison, Wisconsin]], with her family at the age of two.<ref name=":1" /> Her father’s work in NGOs and later as a diplomat moved the family to [[Costa Rica]], [[South Korea]], and [[South Africa]].<ref name=":1" /> After her parents separated, she moved to Mexico City with her mother at the age of 16.<ref name=":2" /> She attended [[UWC Mahindra College]] in India and then returned to Mexico to attend university. She enrolled in the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] to study philosophy, and then lived in Spain and France.<ref name=":2" />
Luiselli was born in [[Mexico City]], and moved to [[Madison, Wisconsin]], with her family at the age of two.<ref name=":1" /> Her father’s work in [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]] and later as a diplomat moved the family to [[Costa Rica]], [[South Korea]], and [[South Africa]].<ref name=":1" /> After her parents separated, she moved to Mexico City with her mother at the age of 16.<ref name=":2" /> Luiselli attended [[UWC Mahindra College]] in [[India]] and then returned to Mexico to attend university. She enrolled in the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] to study philosophy, and then lived in [[Spain]] and [[France]].<ref name=":2" />


Luiselli first came to New York to study contemporary dance and worked as an intern at the [[United Nations]],<ref name=":2" /> and later studied a PhD in Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She currently lives in [[the Bronx]], with her family.
Luiselli first came to [[New York]] to study contemporary dance and worked as an intern at the [[United Nations]],<ref name=":2" /> and later studied a PhD in [[Comparative literature|Comparative Literature]] at [[Columbia University]]. She currently lives in [[the Bronx]] with her family.


== Political involvement ==
== Political involvement ==
Luiselli started a literacy program for girls in a detention center in upstate New York that focuses on creative writing.<ref name=":1" /> Luiselli is passionate about researching and writing about mass incarceration in the United States, with a focus on detention centers. She is working on a performance piece with poet [[Natalie Diaz]] related to mass incarceration and violence against women.<ref name=":1" />
Luiselli started a literacy program for girls in a detention center in upstate New York that focuses on creative writing.<ref name=":1" /> Luiselli is passionate about researching and writing about [[Incarceration in the United States|mass incarceration in the United States]], with a focus on detention centers. She is working on a performance piece with the poet [[Natalie Diaz]] related to mass incarceration and violence against women.<ref name=":1" />


She has been interested in writing about and working to improve the plight of asylum-seeking children from Latin America, a theme that is present in her book ''Lost Children Archive''.<ref name=":1" /> She began writing ''Lost Children Archive'' in 2014 "as a loudspeaker for all of [her] political rage" after having served as a court translator for children from Latin America involved in the migration crisis.<ref name=":1" /> The creation of this book was also a reaction to her daughter working to understand the migration crisis for herself. Before completing ''Lost Children Archive'' in 2019, Luiselli published ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'' that uses the format of the questions she used in the court when interviewing the children, and includes her own experience with applying for a green card. The time spent writing the essay allowed her to write ''Lost Children Archive'' with “more open questions and open ends instead of political stances that are too loud and obvious by themselves.”<ref name=":1" />
Luiselli has been interested in writing about and working to improve the plight of asylum-seeking children from [[Latin America]], a theme that is present in her 2020 novel, ''Lost Children Archive''.<ref name=":1" /> She began writing ''Lost Children Archive'' in 2014 "as a loudspeaker for all of [her] political rage" after having served as a court translator for children from Latin America involved in the migration crisis.<ref name=":1" /> The creation of this book was also a reaction to her daughter working to understand the migration crisis for herself. Before completing ''Lost Children Archive'' in 2019, Luiselli published ''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions'' that uses the format of the questions she used in the court when interviewing the children, and includes her own experience with applying for a green card. The time spent writing the essay allowed her to write ''Lost Children Archive'' with “more open questions and open ends instead of political stances that are too loud and obvious by themselves.”<ref name=":1" />


== Works ==
== Works ==
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===''Faces in the Crowd (Los ingrávidos)''===
===''Faces in the Crowd (Los ingrávidos)''===
''[[Faces in the Crowd (novel)|Faces in the Crowd]]'' (2011) is a triptych that follows the perspectives of the narrator, a young mother living and working as a translator in New York, the protagonist of that mother’s semi-autobiographical novel, and [[Gilberto Owen]], a 20th-century Mexican poet.<ref name=":4" /> These perspectives are woven together throughout the story.
''[[Faces in the Crowd (novel)|Faces in the Crowd]]'' (2011) is a [[triptych]] that follows the perspectives of the narrator, a young mother living and working as a translator in New York, the protagonist of that mother’s semi-autobiographical novel, and [[Gilberto Owen]], a 20th-century Mexican poet.<ref name=":4" /> These three perspectives are woven together throughout the story.


===''The Story of My Teeth''===
===''The Story of My Teeth''===
Luiselli’s second novel, ''The Story of My Teeth'', tells the story of Gustavo (Highway) Sánchez Sánchez, an auctioneer who claims to sell the teeth of authors and historical figures, and uses the money to purchase the supposed teeth of Marilyn Monroe to replace his own.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/books/review/the-story-of-my-teeth-by-valeria-luiselli.html|title='The Story of My Teeth,' by Valeria Luiselli|last=Krusoe|first=Jim|date= September 11, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref> ''The Story of My Teeth'' was written in chapters and distributed to the workers of a juice factory in Mexico. The workers read the chapters out loud and provided comments on them, which Luiselli recorded and took into consideration as she wrote the next chapter.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/12/21/371261474/smashing-snowglobes-a-writer-on-essays-novels-and-translation|title=Smashing Snow Globes: A Writer On Essays, Novels And Translation|website=NPR|date= December 21, 2014|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref>
Luiselli’s second novel, ''The Story of My Teeth'', tells the story of Gustavo (Highway) Sánchez Sánchez, an auctioneer who claims to sell the teeth of authors and historical figures, and uses the money to purchase the supposed teeth of [[Marilyn Monroe]] to replace his own.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/books/review/the-story-of-my-teeth-by-valeria-luiselli.html|title='The Story of My Teeth,' by Valeria Luiselli|last=Krusoe|first=Jim|date= September 11, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref> ''The Story of My Teeth'' was written in chapters and distributed to the workers of a juice factory in Mexico. The workers read the chapters out loud and provided comments on them, which Luiselli recorded and took into consideration as she wrote the next chapter.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/12/21/371261474/smashing-snowglobes-a-writer-on-essays-novels-and-translation|title=Smashing Snow Globes: A Writer On Essays, Novels And Translation|website=NPR|date= December 21, 2014|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref>


===''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions''===
===''Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions''===
Line 49: Line 47:


===''Lost Children Archive''===
===''Lost Children Archive''===
Her fifth novel, this is the first to be written in English. She said she used it as a loudspeaker for all of her political rage regarding the migration crisis. ''Lost Children Archive'' follows a mother, father, and their two children on their journey driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. On the way, they learn about the immigration crisis and learn that they may soon be in a crisis of their own.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/books/authors/176032461/valeria-luiselli|title=Valeria Luiselli|website=NPR|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref>
Her fifth novel, this is the first to be written in English. She said she used it as a loudspeaker for all of her political rage regarding the migration crisis. ''Lost Children Archive'' follows a mother, father, and their two children on their journey driving from New York to [[Arizona]] in the heat of summer. On the way, they learn about the immigration crisis and learn that they may soon be in a crisis of their own.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/books/authors/176032461/valeria-luiselli|title=Valeria Luiselli|website=NPR|access-date= May 14, 2019}}</ref>


== Awards ==
== Awards ==

Revision as of 15:36, 10 September 2020

Valeria Luiselli
Luiselli at the 2016 Hay Festival
Luiselli at the 2016 Hay Festival
Born (1983-08-16) August 16, 1983 (age 41)
Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationAuthor
NationalityMexican
Period2013–

Valeria Luiselli (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican author living in the United States.[1] She is the author of the book of essays Sidewalks and the novel Faces in the Crowd, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Luiselli's 2015 novel The Story of My Teeth was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Best Translated Book Award, and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Fiction, and the was awarded the Premio Metropolis Azul in Montreal, Quebec. Luiselli's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, with her work appearing in publications including, The New York Times, Granta, McSweeney’s, and The New Yorker. Her most recent book, Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions,[2] was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism.[3] Luiselli's 2020 novel, Lost Children Archive won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.[4][5][6]

In 2014, Luiselli was the recipient of the National Book Foundation's "5 under 35" award. In 2019, she won a MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a MacArthur "Genius Grant".[7] In 2020, the Vilcek Foundation awarded her a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature[8] and the Folio Prize.[9]

Luiselli is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

Career

After earning a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Luiselli moved to New York City to dance. She eventually studied comparative literature at Columbia University, where she completed a Ph.D.[10] She teaches literature and creative writing at Bard College, collaborates as a writer with a number of art galleries, and has worked as a librettist for the New York City Ballet.[11] She served as a juror for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2016.[12]

Several of Luiselli's books are based in real-world experiences. The Story of My Teeth (2015) was first written in serial for workers in a Jumex juice factory in Mexico as part of a commission from Galería Jumex.[1] Her nonfiction work Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions (2017) is based on her experiences volunteering as an interpreter for young Central American migrants seeking legal status in the United States.[13] The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism in 2017.[14] Her work with asylum-seeking children from Latin America also informs the central theme in her 2019 novel Lost Children Archive.[14]

Personal life

Luiselli was born in Mexico City, and moved to Madison, Wisconsin, with her family at the age of two.[14] Her father’s work in NGOs and later as a diplomat moved the family to Costa Rica, South Korea, and South Africa.[14] After her parents separated, she moved to Mexico City with her mother at the age of 16.[15] Luiselli attended UWC Mahindra College in India and then returned to Mexico to attend university. She enrolled in the National Autonomous University of Mexico to study philosophy, and then lived in Spain and France.[15]

Luiselli first came to New York to study contemporary dance and worked as an intern at the United Nations,[15] and later studied a PhD in Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She currently lives in the Bronx with her family.

Political involvement

Luiselli started a literacy program for girls in a detention center in upstate New York that focuses on creative writing.[14] Luiselli is passionate about researching and writing about mass incarceration in the United States, with a focus on detention centers. She is working on a performance piece with the poet Natalie Diaz related to mass incarceration and violence against women.[14]

Luiselli has been interested in writing about and working to improve the plight of asylum-seeking children from Latin America, a theme that is present in her 2020 novel, Lost Children Archive.[14] She began writing Lost Children Archive in 2014 "as a loudspeaker for all of [her] political rage" after having served as a court translator for children from Latin America involved in the migration crisis.[14] The creation of this book was also a reaction to her daughter working to understand the migration crisis for herself. Before completing Lost Children Archive in 2019, Luiselli published Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions that uses the format of the questions she used in the court when interviewing the children, and includes her own experience with applying for a green card. The time spent writing the essay allowed her to write Lost Children Archive with “more open questions and open ends instead of political stances that are too loud and obvious by themselves.”[14]

Works

Sidewalks

Sidewalks is Luiselli's debut book of essays in which she explores themes of motion, travel, transition, and reflection.[16]

Faces in the Crowd (Los ingrávidos)

Faces in the Crowd (2011) is a triptych that follows the perspectives of the narrator, a young mother living and working as a translator in New York, the protagonist of that mother’s semi-autobiographical novel, and Gilberto Owen, a 20th-century Mexican poet.[17] These three perspectives are woven together throughout the story.

The Story of My Teeth

Luiselli’s second novel, The Story of My Teeth, tells the story of Gustavo (Highway) Sánchez Sánchez, an auctioneer who claims to sell the teeth of authors and historical figures, and uses the money to purchase the supposed teeth of Marilyn Monroe to replace his own.[18] The Story of My Teeth was written in chapters and distributed to the workers of a juice factory in Mexico. The workers read the chapters out loud and provided comments on them, which Luiselli recorded and took into consideration as she wrote the next chapter.[17]

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions

In this book, Luiselli draws from her experience working as an interpreter for Central American child migrants.[13] The book links the experiences of migrant children risking their lives to come to the United States to Luiselli’s own experiences of getting a green card and staying here with her family.[13]

Lost Children Archive

Her fifth novel, this is the first to be written in English. She said she used it as a loudspeaker for all of her political rage regarding the migration crisis. Lost Children Archive follows a mother, father, and their two children on their journey driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. On the way, they learn about the immigration crisis and learn that they may soon be in a crisis of their own.[19]

Awards

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b Oyler, Lauren (September 15, 2015). "Valeria Luiselli: The Novelist All Your Smart Friends Are Talking About". Broadly.vice.com. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  2. ^ "Mexican Writer Valeria Luiselli on Child Refugees & Rethinking the Language Around Immigration". Democracynow.org. April 18, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "Tell Me How It Ends". Coffee House Press. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  5. ^ SZALUSKY (2020-01-26). "'Lost Children Archive,' 'Midnight in Chernobyl,' receive 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  6. ^ "2020 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  7. ^ a b Schuessler, Jennifer (September 25, 2019). "MacArthur 'Genius' Grant Winners for 2019: The Full List". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Valeria Luiselli". Vilcek Foundation. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Rathbones Folio Prize". 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  10. ^ "Recent Dissertations". Columbia.edu. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Freedman, Geraldine (July 3, 2010). "NYCB Preview: Ginastera's music inspired Wheeldon to create 'Estancia'". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  12. ^ "All Neustadt Prize Jurors (1970 – present)". The Neustadt Prize. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c Powers, John (April 6, 2017). "'Tell Me How It Ends' Offers A Moving, Humane Portrait Of Child Migrants". NPR. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i León, Concepción de (February 7, 2019). "Valeria Luiselli, at Home in Two Worlds". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d "2018 American Book Awards". The Before Columbus Foundation. August 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "Sidewalks". www.amazon.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Smashing Snow Globes: A Writer On Essays, Novels And Translation". NPR. December 21, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  18. ^ Krusoe, Jim (September 11, 2015). "'The Story of My Teeth,' by Valeria Luiselli". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  19. ^ "Valeria Luiselli". NPR. Retrieved May 14, 2019.

Further reading

  • Tyrkus, Michael J. (2015). Contemporary authors. Volume 364 : a bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781573024112.
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