Caro De Robertis
Caro De Robertis | |
|---|---|
 De Robertis at the 2019 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | 1975 (age 48–49) England |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English, Spanish |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Mills College at Northeastern University (MFA) |
| Notable works | The Invisible Mountain (2010) Perla (2013) The Gods of Tango (2015) Radical Hope (2017) |
| Notable awards | Rhegium Julii Debut Prize (2010) Stonewall Book Award (2016) |
| Website | |
| carolinaderobertis | |
Caro De Robertis (born 1975) is a Uruguayan-American author and professor of creative writing at San Francisco State University. They are the author of five novels and the editor of an award-winning anthology, Radical Hope (2017), which include essays by such writers as Junot Diaz and Jane Smiley.[1] They are also well known for their translational work, frequently translating Spanish pieces.
Early life[edit]
Caro De Robertis is the child of two Uruguayan parents. They were born in England and moved throughout their childhood, following the scientific career of their father, Edward De Robertis. De Robertis later moved to Basel (Switzerland), until finally ending up in Los Angeles, California.[2][3][unreliable source?] Aged 19, De Robertis came out as bisexual, which they have described as the beginning of the process of their parents disowning them, which was complete by the time they were 25.[4] Describing their relationship with their parents, they said, "They actually dug in their heels and tried to turn my siblings against my first child when I was pregnant with the first child. I use that example to say, it's not true that everybody comes around."[4]
They worked as a rape counselor and was very active in the Bay Area's LGBTQ+ community for ten years in their 20s.[5]
De Robertis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from University of California, Los Angeles in 1996. They also received a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Mills College in 2007.[6]
Career[edit]
De Robertis released their first book, The Invisible Mountain, in 2009. The novel was an international best-seller, being translated into 17 languages,[7] including Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Hebrew, and Chinese. It won best book for the San Francisco Chronicle, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Booklist. It was also a finalist for the California Book Award, an International Latino Book Award, and the VCU Cabell First Book Award.
De Robertis' 2019 novel, Cantoras, is set in 1970s Uruguay. Its five protagonists are all lesbians.[8] The book was selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice.[9] It also won a Stonewall Book Award,[10] and a Reading Women Award, as well as being a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and a Lambda Literary Award.[11] In 2021, their novel The President and the Frog was published. The character of the President in the book is heavily influenced by José Mujica, the former President of Uruguay. Writing in The Nation, Lily Meyer said that the book, "asks its readers to think seriously about the weight of taking political action, then suggests that they take it."[8]
In 2022, De Robertis became the 41st recipient of the Dos Passos Prize, awarded annually to an American author who American "experiments with form, explores a range of voices and deserves more recognition."[12]
Personal life[edit]
De Robertis lives with their two children in Oakland, California. They identify as queer and genderqueer.[4] Describing their sexuality on the LGBTQ&A podcast, De Robertis said, "The more words the better. So I'm a dyke, I'm a lesbian... It's all good." De Robertis uses they/them pronouns. [13]
Works[edit]
Novels[edit]
- The Invisible Mountain (2009)
- Perla (2012)
- The Gods of Tango (2015)
- Cantoras (2019)
- The President and the Frog (2021)
- The Palace of Eros (2024)
Translation[edit]
- "Trans: A Love Story" by Gabriela Wiener (2007)
- Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra (2008)
- "I Never Went to Blanes" by Diego Trelles Paz (2010)
- The Neruda Case by Roberto Ampuero (2012)
- "Tripych" by Raquel Lubartowski (2017)
Essays[edit]
- "42 Poorly Kept Secrets About Montevideo" for The Indiana Review (2006)
- "Translating a Pablo Neruda Mystery" for Publishers Weekly (2012)
- "We Need the Real, Racist Atticus Finch" for the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review (2015)
- "Why We Must Listen to Women" for the Easy Bay Express (2017)
Other[edit]
- "The Askers" for the Virginia Quarterly Review (2009)
- "On the Brink of Words" for the 580 Split (2009)
- "For Orlando" for the San Francisco Chronicle (2016)
- "The Tango Police" for CNET's Technically Literate Series (2017)
- Radical Hope (2017)
Honors and awards[edit]
- 2022: John Dos Passos Prize[12]
- Terrific Read from O, The Oprah Magazine (2009)[14]
- Rhegium Julii Prize (2010)
- 2012 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts[15]
- San Francisco Chronicle, the Best Books of 2015
- Stonewall Book Award (2016)
References[edit]
- ^ "Coming in May – RADICAL HOPE: LETTERS OF LOVE AND DISSENT IN DANGEROUS TIMES | Carolina De Robertis". www.carolinaderobertis.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ^ Lee, Nicole (17 July 2015). "Carolina De Robertis talks about dancing through history with her novel 'The Gods of Tango'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
- ^ BookBrowse. "Carolina De Robertis author biography". BookBrowse.com. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
- ^ a b c "Carolina De Robertis On Familial Homophobia: Not Everyone Comes Around". www.advocate.com. 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
- ^ Leon, Aya de (2016-02-01). "Novelist Carolina De Robertis wins a Stonewall Award for their historical treatment of queer and transgender identity in THE GODS OF TANGO". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
- ^ "Graduate Program English | MFA & MA Alumnae/i | Mills College". inside.mills.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
- ^ "Carolina De Robertis - Bay Area Book Festival". Bay Area Book Festival. Archived from the original on 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
- ^ a b Meyer, Lily (2021-10-29). "The Moral and Magical Political Fictions of Carolina De Robertis". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ "10 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. 2019-10-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ admin (2009-09-09). "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "Here are the finalists for the 2020 Lambda Literary Awards". www.thefussylibrarian.com. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ a b University, Longwood. "Carolina De Robertis named 41st John Dos Passos Prize winner". www.longwood.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ "LGBTQ&A: Carolina De Robertis: A Love Letter to Anyone Who's Felt Despair on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
- ^ "Perla (Vintage Contemporaries) | IndieBound.org". www.indiebound.org. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
- ^ "Carolina De Robertis". NEA. 2012-01-01. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1975 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American novelists
- American women novelists
- American LGBT writers
- Uruguayan women novelists
- Uruguayan novelists
- 21st-century Uruguayan writers
- American women essayists
- 21st-century American essayists
- 21st-century American women writers
- Stonewall Book Award winners
- 21st-century American LGBT people
- Non-binary writers