In his poetic stanzas and narratives, he juxtaposed his literary knowledge with contemporary pop culture.Īrroyo’s 1996 poetry collection, “The Singing Shark”, won the 1997 Carl Sandburg Poetry Prize and his poem “Breathing Lessons”, published in Emerson College’s literary journal, won a 1997 Pushcart Prize. Arroyo’s work dealt to a large degree with the issues of homosexuality, immigration, and the Latino culture. Openly gay, he wrote poetry, short stories and plays that were frequently self-reflexive, autobiographical works. In the 1980s, Rane Arroyo began his career as a performance artist in Chicago’s art galleries and eventually focused on his poetry. Arroyo was a professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Toledo in Ohio. He earned his PhD in English and Cultural Studies form the University of Pittsburgh. Wondering what it feels like to become fictionīorn in November of 1954 in Chicago, Rane Arroyo was an American poet, playwright and scholar of Puerto Rican descent. To the specifics of long nights without stars
Wind from nowhere, wind with news of home, Plus our Tijuana plans for a destiny makeover, Hooves striking rocks to start fires, plusĪnd library cards, the Spanish of my skin, plusĪ belief in doom, nights bedding the moon, Ghosts wearing landscape’s honesty, photogenic (we were our best scriptures), we the scarred My cowboy, minus the sense of an impending Love to ride, minus extras with tire irons,
