Achy Obejas
Achy Obejas
================
Full Name and Common Aliases
---------------------------------
Achy Obejas' full name is Achy Obejas (also known as Acha Obejas). She was born in 1956 in Havana, Cuba.
Birth and Death Dates
-------------------------
Obejas was born on October 13, 1956. Unfortunately, her date of death is unknown.
Nationality and Profession(s)
--------------------------------
Achy Obejas is a Cuban-American poet, novelist, journalist, translator, and activist. Her nationality is Cuban-American.
Early Life and Background
-----------------------------
Obejas was born in Havana, Cuba during the height of the revolution. At a young age, she moved to Miami with her family due to economic and cultural differences. Growing up as an immigrant in a new country greatly influenced her writing, which often deals with themes of identity, culture, and politics.
Major Accomplishments
-------------------------
Achy Obejas' work has been widely recognized for its unique perspective on the Cuban-American experience. She is best known for her poetry collections such as Memory Mambo (1994) and This Is What Happens Here (2003). These works have been praised for their ability to capture the complexities of identity, culture, and politics.
Notable Works or Actions
---------------------------
In addition to her poetry collections, Obejas has also written several novels. One notable example is Ruby & Carlos (1998), which explores the experiences of Cuban immigrants in the United States. Her writing often tackles themes such as racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Obejas' work does not stop at literature; she is an activist and journalist who has been involved in various social justice movements. She co-founded In These Times, a progressive magazine that covers news and politics from a left-wing perspective.
Impact and Legacy
----------------------
Achy Obejas' writing has made significant contributions to the understanding of the Cuban-American experience. Her work often highlights the complexities and nuances of this identity, which is not frequently explored in literature. Through her poetry and novels, Obejas provides insight into the lives of those who have been marginalized or overlooked.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
------------------------------------------
Achy Obejas' writing has had a lasting impact on the literary world due to its unique perspective on identity and culture. Her exploration of themes such as racism, sexism, and homophobia adds depth to her work and makes it relatable to readers who may have experienced similar struggles.
Obejas is widely quoted for her insightful commentary on politics, social justice, and culture. Her writing often sparks important conversations about the experiences of marginalized communities, making her a valuable voice in contemporary literature and activism.
Quotes by Achy Obejas
We're a long way from the embargo ending. Look at what just happened with the rollback of Obama's Cuba policies. Two idiot congressmen convinced our idiot president to make it harder on Cubans on the island.
I feel possessive about stories I write in Spanish and so I usually end up translating those into English myself.
The legacy of the embargo will be Cuba's poverty and desperation. When the island comes out of it, they'll be even more desperate than they are now about the things they think they've missed. I think one of the unintended results of the embargo is that Cuba is quite consumerist - and I'm talking about the people, not the government or the official propaganda.
This is going to sound nuts but it took me forever to figure out why I'd stopped writing poetry - I mean, I went about a decade where I wrote very little poetry and I thought it was because I was doing a weekly blog. And then when we moved, I reconfigured my writing desk. The previous one had had very little space to write by hand. And suddenly, the poetry was gushing!
Our real world has evolved. It's become something much different, and inadvertently about healthcare, and about what it means to have good health, and to be able to have good health.
Each genre has its own process. I'm very intuitive about poetry. I usually write first and second drafts out by hand. The other end of the spectrum is journalism, which is much more cerebral, more thought-out and planned. Fiction lies somewhere in between. I usually start intuitively but eventually I need to stop and consider structure, or research, or both.
Journalism is very much public writing, writing with an audience in mind, writing for publication, and frequently writing quickly. And I know that when I worked daily journalism it really affected my patience with literature, which I think requires reflection, and a different kind of engagement.