Benjamin alire sáenz gay
Benjamin Alire Sáenz: “I am the luckiest.” On Writing Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World
Since its publication nearly a decade ago, Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universehas been widely regarded and accepted as a seminal immature adult novel in the queer literary canon. Sáenz’s lyrical and beautiful novel about two Latinx boys becoming finest friends and falling in love has been beloved among queer readers of all ages in the years since, prompting a sequel that released October 15, 2021, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. I spoke with Sáenz via email about the fresh novel, his one-of-a-kind writing style, and what readers can expect from the new book.
I hope to start with a simple question—why a sequel to Aristotle and Dante and why now?
In the years after Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Cosmos was published, I had the awful feeling in a dark corner of my heart that, in the novel, I had stopped short of exploring so many things that mattered—that mattered to me, and that mattered to other people as well. The first book turned very much inward and explored Ari and Dant
Q & A with Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is not just a YA author, but a poet, painter, and long-time teacher. Here, the author of the prize-winning Aristotle and Dante Find the Secrets of the Universe (2012), spoke (via email, because he’s on a movie set) with PW about why writing the long-awaited sequel was so difficult and so necessary, the importance of friends—and teachers, and how “it was a blessing not to have to play by the rules of heterosexuals” when deciding what kind of male he wanted to be.
Fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe have been waiting a long age for the sequel. Did you always plan to write one? What was hard about it and what felt familiar about being back with these characters?
I didn’t plan to write a sequel. But I realized, after some time, that I’d left too many things unsaid in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I couldn’t quite forgive myself for not having included the AIDS pandemic. It was personal. I lost a mentor, one of my closest friends, and my oldest brother. And I felt, too, that t
Trans writer/director Aitch Alberto’s makes an auspicious directorial debut with her adaptation of the award-winning YA novel “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
The clip, opening Sept. 8 at the AMC Neshaminy, is arrange in 1987 El Paso, where Mexican American teenagers, Aristotle, aka Ari (magnetic newcomer Max Pelayo) learns to paddle with the assistance of the outgoing Dante (Reese Gonzales). The teens get fast friends and hang out all summer until Dante’s family moves away to Chicago for a year. But when Dante returns, having come out as gay, the dynamic between the friends changes slightly. Alberto handles the emotional arcs of the characters with considerable aplomb.
The filmmaker spoke with PGN about her magical new film.
I’m curious, are you more of a moody, brooding loner and on Team Aristotle, or an outgoing aesthete and on Team Dante?
I always thought I was a Dante, but the reality is I was always an Aristotle. I still have the Aristotle in me. I hope I evolve into the Dante! I assume I’m getting there.
The book is beloved. Was there pressure to capture the magic of the novel for fans?
It was impor
‘The Inexplicable Logic of My Life’ by Benjamin Alire Saenz, 2017. A review by John Cook.
You may call to mind my high praise for Saenz’s ‘Aristotle and Dante’ and I had steep hopes for this guide with its similar cover artwork. I am a little more muted this time. It is still a beautifully written perform though, without the intensity of the earlier. It is also long and I wonder whether teen readers would persist, hopefully so.
It has to at all times be remembered that this is YA fiction with that audience’s demands. I think it is more successful, in some respects, in that niche, than the former. They key lies in the language and relationships. Saenz is a gorgeous writer and, for my money, captures the teen voice very well though it may seem a little flat and clipped – that is the nature of the teen beast! There is beauty here though and I was intrigued at the use of texting (even in the same room or house) a personal horror of mine. It just makes sense here and is appropriate for this connected (when they want to be) generation. The book lacks the rapturous use of the desert environment though the echoes are still there (mainly in the weather) and well used – tha
Bloggers
I had never heard of Aristotle and Dante Detect the Secrets of the Universe or the storyteller, Benjamin Alire Saenz until this class. I was immediately interested after reading a summary on the book, and could barely put it down after starting the story.
Since we talked so much about Lewis Carroll, J.K. Rowling, and the connections to their writings, it made me really curious about Benjamin Alire Saenz. Our two previous books were written by authors that I believe most of us have probably encountered sometime within our lives, even if it was just the mention popping up online once in a while. I might just be very behind in the novel world, but I haven’t come across Saenz call as much as I have with Rowling or Carroll. Once I started researching Saenz a bit more, I realized how much he had in common with the characters in his books.
This interview with Saenz shows a lot of elements seen in both Ari and Dante. For example, Saenz says that, “If I didn’t live in the desert, I would still be writing about the desert (0:50). The desert is a giant place that is crucial to Ari and Dante. Ari’s love for the desert began when Dante and his family