Carlos Rubio Albet
Biographical Information
Bilingual novelist Carlos Rubio Albet was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, where his mother, a poet, first encouraged him to become an author. Rubio immigrated to the United States in 1961, leaving behind his family and the world he knew. Though he and his mother would continue to correspond, Rubio never had the chance to see her again before she died. He completed his high school education in the United States, in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended Concord College in Athens, West Virginia, publishing his first short story while still an undergraduate. He writes in both his native Spanish and in English; his latest novel, Dead Time/Tiempo Muerto was released by Gival Press as a bilingual edition. Rubio’s stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Distinct Voices and Narrativa y Libertad. His 1989 novel Quadrivium was awarded the Nuevo Leon International Prize for Novels. Two of his other novels, Saga and Dead Time, have been finalists in the Letras de Oro literary competition. Carlos Rubio lives and works in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he holds a teaching position at Shepherd College.
Critical Responses
Carlos Rubio has been described as a master of the Neo-Baroque style. A writing movement in Latin American and Caribbean literature, Neo-Baroque is defined by “a manner of writing that avoids the utilitarian in favor of a more playful, ironic, and embellished style. It is not just the story that is affected by this mode of writing, but the actual words and the structure of the text.” Writing about The Neophyte, the first in a trilogy about a young Georgian gypsy known only as “the Neophyte,” one review commented “his [Rubio’s] use of the Neo-Baroque style of storytelling with the American south as a backdrop is unlike anything else out there. Anyone who is in search of a stimulating read should pick up The Neophyte; if the story fails to intrigue, Rubio’s uncommon writing approach will do the trick.” The same review also described The Neophyte as a “spontaneous journey that is surprising in story and frolicsome in its execution.” Another reviewer, Doug Boren, wrote that Orpheus’ Blues, a novel about a young jazz musician’s struggles to find success and himself, “is a well-written and descriptive novel that lets you feel the comfort and joy, the frustration and hope of a section of our society few know about. For anyone who has the artist within them, this is one you don’t want to miss.
Works Published
- Caleidoscopio
- Saga
- Quadrivium
- The Neophyte
- Dead Time/Tiempo Muerto
- Orpheus' Blues
- Bullwhip
- Secret Memories
Selected Bibliography
none available
Author Website
www.carlosrubioalbet.com