Manuel Luis Martinez (June 26, 1966) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and literary critic. He was born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and is the author of four novels: ''Crossing'', (

Bilingual Press Bilingual Review Press is an American publishing house specialising in the publication of scholarly and literary works by Hispanic and Latino American authors and researchers. It was founded in 1973 as the publisher of '' The Bilingual Review/La ...

, 1998), ''Drift'', ( Picador USA, 2003), ''Day of the Dead'', (Floricanto Press, 2010) and ''Los Duros'' (Floricanto Press, 2014). His fiction deals primarily with the lives of

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

s and Mexican immigrants, and explores the themes of

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, contemporary urban life, and the experience of

dislocation In materials science, a dislocation or Taylor's dislocation is a linear crystallographic defect or irregularity within a crystal structure that contains an abrupt change in the arrangement of atoms. The movement of dislocations allow atoms to sli ...

. He is also the author of a book of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, ''Countering the Counterculture: Rereading Postwar American Dissent from

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

to Tomas Rivera'', (

University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a Non-profit organization, non-profit university press publishing Peer review, peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic comm ...

, 2003).

Personal

He received a bachelor's degree in History and Literature from St. Mary's University (1988), a master's degree in Creative Writing from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(1989), and a PhD in American Literature from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(1997). He teaches American Literature, Chicano Studies, and Creative Writing at the Ohio State University in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

Novels

''Crossing'' Plot Summary: Luis Lomos, a sixteen-year-old boy from a small Mexican town, undertakes the journey to the United States. Trapped in a

railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American English, American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and International Union of Railways, UIC), also called a tra ...

with twelve other

undocumented workers Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

, he meets an old man named Berto Morales who has a terrible secret that he feels he must confess before he dies. The short trip becomes interminable as the men slowly suffocate to death. The tale is based on a true event. ''Drift'' Plot Summary: Robert Lomos, a troubled young man, decides to run away from his grandmother's care in San Antonio, Texas, to find his estranged mother who has left for

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His plan is to convince her that he will assume the responsibilities of a "man" and that he will care for her and his infant brother. ''Day of the Dead'' Plot Summary: A prequel to ''Crossing.'' Berto Morales, a major character in Martinez's first novel, narrates the year he spends searching for the murderer of his pregnant wife during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. The novel begins in 1912 on the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

and ends on the same date in 1913. Bent on revenge, Berto finds that what he most wants is a form of redemption. He gets that opportunity when he meets Isabella, a young widow with a daughter in need of protection during the uptick in violence that follows the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of President

Francisco Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and Public figure, statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in Ten Tragic ...

in 1912. ''Los Duros'' Plot summary: Two young men living in a California shantytown must deal with the effects of a double murder.

Critical work

''Countering the Counterculture: Rereading Postwar American Dissent from Jack Kerouac to Tomas Rivera'' Martinez explores the theme of "movement" and "mobility" in defining the

American counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

. He argues that Mexican and Chicano migrant writers practice a form of

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

that emphasizes the role of forced movement that underscores the limitations of democratic discourse. His central critique of the "American counterculture" centers on the work of several Beat writers whom Martinez claims ignore the political limits of

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

thus subverting their own

social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The origin of modern ...

of American

corporatism Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come toget ...

and

conformity Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...

Anthologies

*''Hecho en Tejas'' *''Latinos in Lotusland''

Awards

*''Crossing'' selected as one of the ten best books by a writer of color,

PEN American Center PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide thr ...

, NY (1999). *''Drift'' chosen as one of the top 100 books by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

, 2004. *''Los Duros'' awarded the American Book Award, 2015 *Inducted into the

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

in 2012

References

External links

*
The Southeast Review :: Lives of the Writers :: Manuel Luis Martinez
*Adams, Rachel. "Review: Countering the Counterculture." ''The Americas''. Volume 61, Issue 1, July, 2004, pp. 124–25. *Aldama, Frederick. "A Book Review of Drift, A Novel." ''World Literature Today.'' U of Oklahoma, Volume 78, Issue 3-4, Sept. 1, 2004, p. 95. *Gale Reference Team. "Biography: Manuel Luis Martinez." ''Contemporary Authors.'' NY: Thomson Gale Publishing, 2007.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Manuel Luis 1966 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American writers of Mexican descent American Book Award winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers