ASC professor and local author, Abeyta, publishes first novel (10-12-07)
Aaron Abeyta
Associate Professor of English Aaron Abeyta's first novel, "Rise, Do Not Be Afraid," was inspired by the heritage and history of disappearing villages. This is the first novel written by Abeyta, who has published two books of poetry.
"I sat down to write another poem and it turned into a chapter," Abeyta said. "Two days later I had three chapters and I kept writing a chapter a day until the book was finished."
His book has been compared to Rudolfo Anaya's novel, "Bless Me, Ultima." "I guess a lot of people see the similarity because we both write about the supernatural in our characters' everyday lives," Abeyta said.
Whereas Anaya's book focuses on a couple of main characters, Abetya's has 7 or 8 main characters. "I wanted to convey the sense of a village," Abeyta said.
"Abeyta's prose is beautifully rendered, each new chapter standing alone as a long poem...[the novel has a] Faulkner-inspired sense of the wholeness of a village voice." -Rocky Mountain News
The term, magical realism, is given to authors who write as though the supernatural were commonplace. "My grandpa would tell wild stories with a straight face," Abeyta said.
"[Abeyta is a] very talented writer...his voice is unique and adventurous: very much Southern Colorado (El Valle de San Luis, actually), and very much in touch with the passions of the Valley gente."-Manuel Ramos, La Blog.
A brief synopsis of Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, from the website, La Bloga, "It was the last good year for Santa Rita, a town that once thrived in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. But the communidad's fragile bonds of honor, obligation, and love unravel when "the devil comes like bad water through the oldest and weakest parts of a place." Embedded in the novel's winding tales, memory and dream mingle and sing, asking us to question our preconceptions about history - whose version becomes truth? Faced with outsider infiltration and greed, Santa Rita's faith rests in the hands of her people, both the living and the dead."
Abeyta said it makes him sad when communities loose their "close-knit communal lifestyle."
"Santa Rita was purchased by outside interests," Abeyta said. "The access to the area is now fenced off with a locked gate."
Abeyta received the American Book Award in 2002, the Colorado Book Award in 2001, and received the Grand Prize from the Academy of American Poets while a graduate student at Colorado State University.
"Rise, Do Not Be Afraid" is on sale at the Adams State College Bookstore and the Narrow Gauge Bookstore in downtown Alamosa. Abeyta has two readings scheduled this fall including the Readers Festival at Mesa State College on Oct. 20.
By Linda Relyea
