ABR Hosts Author Graciela Limón at UHV
Born in 1938 to working-class parents, Limón has lived and worked her whole life in Los Angeles. Though she aspired to become a writer at an early age, she began her fiction career late in life. Limón first put herself through school, earning a doctorate from the University of California in 1975 and becoming a professor of Latino Literature and Chicano Studies at Loyola Marymount University. Her first novel, In Search of Barnabé, was released in 1993 and won the American Book Award in 1994.
Now, at age 68, Limón is an acclaimed author whose novels deal with the issues of multiculturalism and Latina identity. Her newest novel, Left Alive, is a psychological thriller about one man’s struggle with why his mother murdered her other three children but spared him.
“We’re thrilled that a novelist of Dr. Limón’s stature is coming to inaugurate the UHV/ABR Reading Series,” said Dr. Charles Alcorn, ABR’s managing editor. “She is a great storyteller whose novel weaves a fascinating tale. We’re all in for a treat.”
Limón will have a busy day at UHV. In addition to the reading, her trip will include a roundtable discussion with faculty and students on the future of Chicano Studies, an interview with ABR editors, and a tour of the Hispanic Heritage Month art exhibit with President Tim Hudson.
The American Book Review, which is sponsoring the event, is an internationally distributed literary journal with a circulation of about 8,000. Recently, the journal moved from Illinois State University to UHV when interim dean of Arts and Sciences Dr. Jeffrey Di Leo took over as editor-in-chief. Plans for ABR include a reading series which will bring other well-known writers like Limón to Victoria every six weeks.
Currently, Limón has four other novels: The Memories of Ana Calderón, Song of the Hummingbird, The Day of the Moon and Erased Faces. She will be available after the reading to sign books. For more information on Limón or the UHV/ABR Reading Series, contact Charles Alcorn at (361) 570-4100 or alcornc@uhv.edu.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
