Award-winning borderland author and poet Benjamin Alire Saenz died at 71 on July 28 in El Paso after a long illness.
A literary giant, Saenz was proud of his humble roots. He was born in a small farming community near Las Cruces in 1954, one of seven children. For a time, he served as a Catholic priest and later a professor who taught creative writing at the University of Texas at El Paso for many years. He created and was an orginal host of KTEP's program Words on a Wire.
A prolific writer, he loved the desert and believed in the bittersweet beauty of the border. His acclaimed collection of short stories "Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club" is set at the legendary Ciudad Juarez bar.
Saenz also wrote children’s books. He was especially beloved for his young adult fiction. and heard from many young fans who saw themselves in "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe." The best-selling book became a feature film in 2023.
Ben’s final gift to all of us is his new book “When the World was Happy.” It’s fiction, a novel born of the heartbreak of losing a loved one to gun violence. It’s in memory of his 13-year-old niece Amy and dedicated to her mother. Ben ends his author’s note saying, “writing this book is how I love.”
He wanted others to carry on that legacy and a day before he died Ben asked the El Paso Community Foundation to create a fund to support writers in our border region. The Benjamin Alire Saenz Literary Fund is now a reality.
