Benjamin Alire Saenz

Benjamin Alire Sáenz is an American poet, novelist, and children's book author born in 1954 in New Mexico to a Mexican-American family, raised on a farm in Doña Ana County near the US-Mexico border.[1][2][6] He studied philosophy and theology, was ordained a Catholic priest in 1981, left the priesthood in 1985 to pursue writing, and earned an MA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.[1][2][5] Sáenz gained acclaim for works like 'Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club' (PEN/Faulkner Award, 2013, first Latino winner) and 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' (multiple awards), and he lives in El Paso, Texas.[1][3][4]