Virgil Suárez
Born	Virgilio Suárez (1962-01-29)January 29, 1962 (age 63) Havana, Cuba
Occupation	Poet,novelist
Nationality	American
Notable works	Banyan,Going Under,Spared Angola
Notable awards	Book Expo America/Latino Literature Hall of Fame Poetry Prize; G. MacCarthur Poetry Prize
Literature portal

Virgil Suárez (born January 29, 1962,Havana, Cuba) is a poet and novelist. He is a professor of English atFlorida State University.^[1] He is one of the leading writers in theCuban American community,^[2] known for his novels includingLatin Jazz andGoing Under. He has also reviewed books for TheLos Angeles Times, TheMiami Herald, ThePhiladelphia Inquirer, and TheTallahassee Democrat.^[2]

He spent four years in Spain, 1970–1974.^[3] He moved to the U.S. in 1974.^[4] He went to high school inLos Angeles, California.^[3] He received a BA fromCalifornia State University, Long Beach.^[3] He received an MFA fromLouisiana State University (1987) while studying underVance Bourjaily. He studied underSir Angus Wilson and Robert Houston for a year at theUniversity of Arizona.

Suárez's first novel,Latin Jazz was described byNewsday as "a striking debut. A well crafted and sensitive novel. An engrossing, honest book by a writer who cares deeply about preserving ties within the family unit and, by extension, within the Hispanic community and America. Suarez is marvelous."^[2] His novelThe Cutter was described byPublishers Weekly as a "powerful novel about one individual's response to the abuses and arbitrariness oftotalitarianism [that] shows us how ordinary people can be driven to take extraordinary risks."^[2] His collection of stories,Welcome to the Oasis, was described byKirkus Reviews as "A tightly controlled but affecting exploration of fundamental tensions" in theCuban exile/Marielito community.^[5] New York Public Library named the collection as one of the top books for the Teen Age.^[2]

Other praise has come fromThe New York Times: "Mr. Suarez writes in a cold, unornamental,Hemingwayesque style, always straight forward and cinematic" andThe Village Voice "LikeOscar Hijuelos, Suarez has taken pains with his craft, orchestrating points of view and narrative time. His forte is directness of description and action."^[2]

Suárez has stated that he no longer writes novels and finds writing poetry better for him. He also states thatSpared Angola is the work in which he found his voice. He continues to explore the experience ofexile, of living as a gypsy.^[6]

Suárez is married with children.^[2]

• The Painted Bunting's Last Molt, new poems, U. of Pittsburgh P, 2020.
• 90 Miles (Selected & New Poems), U of Pittsburgh P, 2005.
• Landscapes & Dreams (poems), Louisiana Literature P, 2003.
• Vespers: Spirituality in America (anthology), U of Iowa P, 2003.
• Guide to the Blue Tongue (poems), U of Illinois, 2002.
• Banyan (poems), Louisiana State U P, 2001.
• Palm Crows (poems), U of Arizona P, 2001.
• American Diaspora (anthology), U of Iowa P, 2001.
• The Cutter (reprint, novel), Ballatine/Available, 1991 andArte Público Press, 1999.
• In the Republic of Longing (poems),Bilingual Review Press/Arizona State U, 2000.
• You Come Singing (poems), Tia Chucha/Northwestern UP, 1998.
• Garabato Poems (poems), Wings, 1998.
• Spared Angola (poems, essays, stories),Arte Publico Press, 1997.
• Going Under (novel),Arte Público Press, 1996.
• Havana Thursdays (novel),Arte Público Press, 1995.
• Iguana Dreams (anthology), Harper Collins, 1993.
• Welcome to the Oasis (stories)Arte Público Press, 1992.
• Latin Jazz (novel) William Morrow, 1989.

Shorter pieces have been published in:Ploughshares,Prairie Schooner, The Kenyon Review,Clackamas Literary Review,TriQuarterly,Colorado Review,The Southern Review,The Massachusetts Review,American Literary Review, The American Voice, TheCaribbean Review, The North American Review, Manoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing, Puerto del Sol, Northwest Review, Mid-American Review, Blue Mesa Review, Crazy Horse, Cimarron, Tampa Review, and in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, England, France, India, Israel, Spain, Venezuela, and New Zealand.^[2]

• Best American Poetry, 2004.
• G. MacCarthur Poetry Prize, 2002.
• The Daily News/The Caribbean Writer/University of the Virgin Islands Poetry Prize, 2002.
• National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship, 2001.
• TheBook Expo America/Latino Literature Hall of Fame Poetry Prize for Best Book of Poetry (forBanyan), 2001.
• Winner of a Florida State Individual Artist Grant, 1998.
• Winner ofNew York Public Library's Best Book for the Teenager, 1993.
• Nominated for fivePushcart Prizes.

• List of Cuban American writers
• List of Famous Cuban-Americans.

as of March 2008:

1. "Virgilio Suárez (1962-)." By:Roberto G. Fernández. IN: West-Durán, Herrera-Sobek and Salgado,Latino and Latina Writers, I: Introductory Essays, Chicano and Chicana Authors; II: Cuban and Cuban American Authors, Dominican and Other Authors, Puerto Rican Authors. New York: Scribner's; 2004. pp. 747–61
2. "Dos novelas cubanoamericanas: Dos inserciones del imaginario Cuba dentro de la realidad estadounidense." By: Humberto López Cruz,Torre de Papel, 2003 Summer-Fall; 13 (2-3): 15–23.
3. "Virgil Suárez andFinnegans Wake (FW)." By: Tatsuo Hamada,Abiko Annual with James Joyce Finnegans Wake Studies, 2001; 21: 179–82.
4. "Virgil Suárez'sThe Cutter andGoing Under: Beat on the Drum or Beaten by the Humdrum?" By: William O. Deaver, Jr.Anales Literarios: Narradores, 2001; 3 (3): 110–17.
5. "Going Under yRaining Backwards: Una lectura de enfrentamiento en el proceso de asimiliación dentro de la sociedad estadounidense." By: Humberto López Cruz,SECOLAS Annals: Journal of the Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies, 1999 Nov; 31: 85–91.
6. "Going Under andSpared Angola: Memories from a Cuban-American Childhood: A Contrapunteo on Cultural Identity." By: Leira Annette Manso,Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, 1999 Sept-Dec; 24 (3): 295–98.
7. "Humor e hipérbole enRaining Backwards yGoing Under." By: Humberto López Cruz,Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, 1999 Autumn; 14: 163–69.
8. "The Prodigal Son in the Structure ofRaining Backwards,Crazy Love, andLatin Jazz." By: William O. Deaver, Jr.;Americas Review: A Review of Hispanic Literature and Art of the USA, 1996 Fall-Winter; 24 (3-4): 179–90.

1. "The Work We Leave Behind: An Interview with Virgil Suárez." By: William T. Vandegrift, Jr.;Quarterly West, 2004 Summer; 58: 68–79.
2. "Electric Dialogue: An E-mail Conversation with Virgil Suárez." By: James Mayo,Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe, 2001 Jan-2002 Apr; 26 (1): 56–63.

• Ryan G. Van Cleave'sInterview of Virgil Suárez (accessed March 2008)
• Bio at Notre Dame's website (accessed March 2008)
• Bio at Arte Público Press (same as Notre Dame bio; accessed March 2008)

• American writers of Cuban descent
• 20th-century American novelists
• American male novelists
• Writers from Havana
• Living people
• 1962 births
• Hispanic and Latino American novelists
• Florida State University faculty
• Cuban emigrants to the United States
• 20th-century American poets
• American male poets
• 20th-century American male writers
• Novelists from Florida
• 21st-century American poets
• 21st-century American male writers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata