Benjamin Alire Sáenz, first Latino winner of PEN/Faulkner award, dies aged 71

Celebrated writer, poet and novelist for young adults drew upon his sexuality and life on US southern border Benjamin Alire Sáenz, an award-winning fiction writer and poet who drew upon his sexuality and his life on the southern border, has died aged 71. He was the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner prize. Sáenz, who produced a story collection that won the PEN/Faulkner prize and a young adult novel that received acclaim from readers and reviewers and condemnation from censors, died on 28 July in El Paso, Texas, after a lengthy illness, according to a spokesperson for Simon & Schuster. Sáenz, born in Old Picacho, New Mexico, was an ordained Catholic priest who eventually left the order and came out as gay. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, the story of two Mexican American boys falling in love, was published in 2012 and received a pair of citations for outstanding LGBTQ+ literature: a Stonewall book award and the Lambda literary award. In a tribute posted to the late author’s Instagram account on Saturday, Sáenz is described as a writer whose words ensured visibility and belonging among people who have been pushed into the margins of society. “Ben