Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés
Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés
I was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Cuban parents but grew up in Bayonne, NJ. At age 14, my family, including a younger brother, moved to Miami where I earned a BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Miami (Go Canes!) and a Masters at Barry University, writing a thesis on Toni Morrison’s first four novels. I met and married my partner Jorge in Miami and then moved to upstate New York where I earned a Doctorate of Arts at the State University of New York at Albany. Both of my children were born in Florida, my daughter in Miami, my son in Orlando where I have lived and worked since 1999.
I like to say that I have both Northern and Southern sensibilities since I have lived for years in both regions. To me, the most important aspects in my writing are the way language sounds and that the characters be believable and memorable. I love reading and get tremendous satisfaction from writing that reaches or moves readers–so please do let me know what you think of the stories. I love traveling and meeting people and look forward to more book talks and readings.
As a teacher of literature and writing, I feel lucky to do what I love. Being around students, having discussions about books, and helping writers is a great fit for my personality and interests. I’m crazy about the beach and love to dance, especially salsa. We have two dogs–Puchi and Shifu. My household is usually quite boisterous and not just because of the animals.
Marielitos, Balseros and Other Exiles
Starred Review. In her debut collection, Milanés tells varied, often heartbreaking tales of Cuban-American exiles. With young Carmen, Milanés introduces readers to the community’s exodus, the 1980 Mariel boatlift, when Castro reluctantly let 10,000 Cubans leave the country. Carmen’s simple but eye-opening story features a radio broadcast cataloguing the difficulties those marielitos have since faced in the U.S. In this emotional tour through the semiconnected lives of these immigrants, and the rafters who came after (the balseros), hardworking dishwasher Juan loses the job he loves, becomes homeless and discovers unexpected opportunity; his abrupt fate turns up in a later story about José Vidal, a dangerous marielito who’s lost his mind. For her family, Damarys has clawed her way to freedom and success by whatever means necessary; in his own story, her brother Fito refuses to take part in his beloved sister’s illegitimate schemes. Complex and woeful, Milanés’s rich ensemble act may remind readers of Junot Diaz’s Drown and Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son. (May)
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“In Marielitos, Balseros, and Other Exiles, Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés presents an amazing diversity of characters. Here are voices I have never heard before in American Literature. With clarity, tenderness, but unflinching courage, she fills in some of the blank faces that have been left out of our minority mosaic. Here are the lowest of the low, marginalized even by their own, but springing to full, complex, rich, engaging reality. Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés creates a big enough imaginative space for their lives and their stories. We are all the richer for having this new storyteller with this first, promising collection join our Latino and American literature circles.”—Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, Saving the World and Return to Sender. Continue on Amazon Page
Here’s Celia’s Blog
Here Newest Book more to come……
Rodez Art
(Click on Image to view Damien Cruz' Page)
La felicito por su exito y su creacion. Me enorgullece cuando alguien de nuestra gente con su talento hace resaltar nuestras raices en un pais donde se descrimina tanto.
Deseo que siga cosechando exitos.
Mis saludos y mis respetos!
Eugenio D’ Duranti
Pintor y Escritor Cubano
Has a novel ever given you that level of emotional connection which compare to that given by a memoir such as the two books above ?