Born and raised in Pastura, New Mexico, Rudolfo Anaya was the fifth of seven siblings. When he was very young, his family moved to Santa Rosa and eventually to Albuquerque. Both his literary production and his professional career have been linked to the city of Albuquerque. Anaya earned a B.A. and a M.A. in English from the University of New Mexico and was a primary school teacher before becoming a professor at the University of New Mexico in the English department. He retired in 1993, becoming emeritus professor.
The writing of Bless Me Ultima (1971), his first novel, took Anaya seven years, only to be met with the refusal of several publishing houses until he submitted it to the second edition of the Quinto Sol award, which he won. While the novel deals with many of the topics that
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Citation: Gomez-Galisteo, M. Carmen. "Rudolfo A. Anaya". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 June 2008; last revised 31 July 2022. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=107, accessed 06 October 2024.]