María Teresa Miaja de la Peña has just published a new book on the work of Reinaldo Arenas, Del alba al anochecer: La escritura en Reinaldo Arenas [From Dawn to Dusk: The Writings of Reinaldo Arenas, (Madrid: Iberoamericana /Vervuert, 2009)]. This book is the result of an “intense and pleasurable reading of one of the most controversial writers of the XXth century.” It explores the great literary value of Arenas’ work as well as his life ideology, because, as Miaja de la Peña states, it is impossible to separate one from the other.
Born in the Province of Oriente, Cuba, in 1943, Reinaldo Arenas wrote poetry, drama, and novels. His novels include Celestino antes del alba (1967, novel), El mundo alucinante (1969), La vieja Rosa (1980), El palacio de las blanquisimas mofetas (1980), Otra vez el mar (1982), Arturo, la estrella mas brillante (1984), La loma del ángel (1987), El portero (1988), and El color del verano (1991, published posthumously). His memoir Antes que Anochezca: Autobiografía (1992) afforded Arenas much more world-wide recognition (albeit posthumously) than his other works, especially after the appearance of the filmic version (Before Night Falls) directed by Julian Schnabel. As Jaime Manrique writes in his Village Voice article, “After the Night Falls: The Revival of Reinaldo Arenas” (2000), the exiled Cuban writer was suddenly in vogue ten years later, after committing suicide in 1990 in his Hell’s Kitchen apartment, where he lived in poverty, ravaged by AIDS and without health insurance.
Although before his death, there were already scholars writing about his work, life, and politics- such as Perla Rozencvaig’s Reinaldo Arenas: Narrativa de la transgresión (1986)- most were published later. Most recent book titles include Rafael Ocasio’s Cuba’s Political and Sexual Outlaw: Reinaldo Arenas (2003) and A Gay Cuban Activist in Exile: Reinaldo Arenas (2007); Liliane Hasson and Suzanne Nagy’s Un cubain libre, Reinaldo Arenas (2007); and José Ismael Gutiérrez´s Reinaldo Arenas: entre el placer y el infierno (2007).
Photo of Reinaldo Arenas (taken by Néstor Almendros) and Jaime Manrique’s article, see http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-12-05/news/after-night-falls/
For purchasing information, see http://www.ibero-americana.net/cgi-bin/infodetail.cgi?doknr=521409&lang=es&txt=beschreibung
