The world's most celebrated Chicano author, Rudolfo Anaya, will receive the 2001 Wallace Stegner Award from the CU-Boulder Center of the American West on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
"Power, Magic and Spirit: An Evening with Rudolfo Anaya" will be presented on the CU-Boulder campus in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom at 7 p.m. Anaya also will answer questions from a panel of interviewers and the audience.
A book signing and reception will precede the event in the east ballroom starting at 6 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
Anaya, professor emeritus of language and literature at the University of New Mexico, is the author of numerous novels including "Bless Me, Ultima," "Heart of Aztlan," "Tortuga," "Albuquerque," and "Zia Summer." In addition to publishing articles, children's books, short stories and plays, he has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol Award and the PEN Center West Award for Fiction.
Anaya will participate in a conversation on Oct. 16 with Manuel Ramos, Patricia Nelson Limerick and Nicki Gonzales. Ramos is author of the Luiz Montez mystery novels including "The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz," "The Ballad of Gata Guerrero" and "The Last Client of Luis Montez;" Limerick is a professor of history and chair of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West; and Gonzales is a doctoral student in the CU-Boulder history department.
"Anyone who has read Anaya's works sees the West in new and intense ways," Limerick said. "It is a real honor for the center to have an association with this writer."
Anaya's works often focus on his home state of New Mexico and "celebrate human dignity, cross-cultural respect, and the preservation of the wisdom of those who have come before us," according to the text of the Center of the American West's Stegner award. "You have made the name 'Anaya' a synonym for 'power,' 'magic,' and 'spirit.'"
Anaya was born in Pastura, N.M., on Oct. 30, 1937, the fifth of seven children. He was born into two traditions: a lineage of farmers from his mother's family and the vaquero or cowboy tradition of his father's family. His family, and particularly his relationship with his curandera (folk healer) grandmother, has played an important part in his life and his published works.
Anaya also has a double heritage in language. He was raised in a Spanish-speaking household and learned English through his public school education.
Anaya earned bachelor's and master's degrees in literature from the University of New Mexico and spent seven years perfecting his first and most famous novel, "Bless Me, Ultima," published in 1972. He taught in the English department of his alma mater from 1974 until 1993.
The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens in their communities.
For information call the Center of the American West at (303) 492-4879 or visit .