Ana Lydia Vega (born December 6, 1946, Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican writer.

Biography

Her parents were Virgilio Vega, an "oral poet" from Coamo, Puerto Rico, and Doña María Santana, a teacher from the town of Arroyo. She went to school at the Academia del Sagrado Corazón in Santurce, and studied at the University of Puerto Rico, earning a bachelor's degree in 1968. She went on to study at the University of Provence, France, earning a master's degree in French literature in 1971, and a doctorate in French literature in 1978. She has received the Premio Casa de las Américas (1982) and the Premio Juan Rulfo (1984). In 1985, she was selected as "Author of the Year" by the Puerto Rico Society of Authors. Vega was a professor of French literature and Caribbean studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and retired later.

Work

In Spanish

Fiction

Non-fiction

In translation

Writing Elements

Historic context

Puerto Rico's history plays a role in Vega's writings. The country became a U.S. territory under the Treaty of Paris (1898), after the Spanish–American War. Remorse still exists toward one of the leading causes of the war, and many people believe that the bombing of the US battleship USS Maine (ACR-1) was a conspiracy. This sentiment is present in Vega's works. Puerto Rico became a commonwealth after adopting a constitution on July 25, 1952. Because of the nation's ties to the United States, English is mixed with Spanish to make up the dialect of the region, which is used in her writings. Migration to the United States is common, and it is also a theme in Vega's stories. Vega's writing is also influenced by her familiarity with African oral traditions. In 1978, she wrote her doctoral thesis on the influence of Haitian leader Henri Christophe on African American theater and on theater in the Antilles. Vega's father was an accomplished practitioner of the Décima, a Puerto Rican form of poetry emphasizing improvisation.

Reception of her work

Few of Ana Lydia Vega’s Spanish-language works have been translated into English, and "her catalog, whether in English or Spanish" was out of print as of 2015.

Critical studies in English