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Luis Alberto Urrea

ルイス・アルベルト・ウレア

Ruisu Aruberuto Urea

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-08-20 （Tijuana, Mexico）
Nationality
Mexican, American
Languages
English, Spanish
Residence History
Tijuana (born) → San Diego (childhood) → Naperville, Illinois (resident)

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, poet, professor
Active Years
1977-
Affiliations
University of Illinois at Chicago (professor)
Influenced By
Gabriel García Márquez, Latin American magical realist writers

Education

University of California, San Diego
Writing / Department of Writing
Degree: 学士（BA）
Period: 1973-1977
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: United States
Undergraduate degree in writing
University of Colorado at Boulder
Graduate studies (creative writing)
Country: United States
Completed graduate studies

Awards

Christopher Award
1993
Work: Across the Wire
Organization: Christopher Awards
Result: winner
Colorado Book Award (Poetry)
1994
Work: The Fever of Being
Category: poetry
Organization: Colorado Book Awards
Result: winner
Western States Book Award (Poetry)
1994
Work: The Fever of Being
Category: poetry
Organization: Western States
Result: winner
American Book Award
1999
Work: Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: winner
Small-press Book of the Year (ForeWord)
2002
Work: Six Kinds of Sky
Category: fiction
Organization: ForeWord magazine
Result: winner
Latino Literature Hall of Fame
2000
Organization: Latino Literature Hall of Fame
Result: inducted
Lannan Literary Award
2004
Work: The Devil's Highway
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: winner
Border Regional Library Association Southwest Book Award
2004
Work: The Devil's Highway
Organization: Border Regional Library Association
Result: winner
Pulitzer Prize
2004
Work: The Devil's Highway
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: finalist
Kiriyama Prize
2004
Work: The Devil's Highway
Organization: Kiriyama Prize
Result: finalist
Edgar Award (Best Mystery Short Story)
2010
Work: Short story "Amapola"
Category: short story
Organization: Mystery Writers of America (Edgar Awards)
Result: winner
Tucson Festival of Books Founders Award
2019
Organization: Tucson Festival of Books
Result: presented

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Hummingbird's Daughter

2005 historical novel 512 pages

A heavily researched historical novel that tells the life of Teresita Urrea (the author's great-aunt) and interweaves family history with Mexico's social and political past.

faithfamily historyMexican social history

The Devil's Highway

2004 creative nonfiction 304 pages

A reported nonfiction account of migrants crossing the U.S. southwestern border and the tragedies that occur; combines investigative reporting with narrative nonfiction.

migrationbordersocial justice
Adaptations
  • [film (optioned)]

The House of Broken Angels

2018 family novel 336 pages

An epic family novel centered on a funeral that examines Mexican-American identity, family bonds, and cultural politics.

familydeath and griefcultural identity

Nobody's Son: Notes from an American Life

1998 memoir 240 pages

A memoir in which Urrea reflects on his family history, upbringing as a Mexican-American, and formative life experiences.

identityimmigrant experiencefamily

Bibliography

  • Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border
  • The Fever of Being
  • In Search of Snow
  • The Hummingbird's Daughter
  • The Devil's Highway
  • The House of Broken Angels
  • Good Night, Irene: A Novel

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Poetic, descriptive prose influenced by magical realismA fusion of reportage-style factual investigation and narrative storytelling
Recurring Motifs
border and migrationfamily history and memoryfaith and miracles

Health

  • tuberculosis (childhood)
    幼少期
    Contracted tuberculosis in childhood; the family's move to the United States was partly motivated by his need for recovery.

Legacy

Urrea is a prominent Mexican-American writer whose work across fiction, poetry, and nonfiction explores the border, migration, and family. He is noted for blending reportage with lyrical storytelling and has achieved both critical and popular recognition.

Quotes

  • I'm always trying to, using literature, subvert people's responses.
    Source: NPR Fresh Air interview (Terry Gross, 2018) (2018)

Trivia

  • His father was murdered in 1977 during a trip to his home village; the event influenced Urrea's early writing.
  • Longtime resident of Naperville, Illinois, and a creative writing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
  • Official website: luisurrea.com