Interview with Silvio Sirias, author of Meet Me Under the Ceiba

Silvio Sirias

It is my pleasure to introduce you to author Silvio Sirias, whose latest book, Meet Me Under the Ceiba, will be released by Arte Publico Press this fall. The novel, based on a true, bizarre and shocking story, combines love, lust, greed and homophobia, perfect elements for a compelling mystery.

Thanks for being my guest today. Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started writing?

I was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up there until the age of eleven. My parents then moved to Nicaragua, their country of origin. This move is, without a doubt, the most significant milestone in my life as it shaped the way I see the world. During my years in Nicaragua, I also learned that Central America is a place full of wondrous, and at times heartbreaking, stories. After graduating from high school I returned to Los Angeles to attend college. I fell in love with the study of literature and eventually received a doctorate in Spanish from the University of Arizona and worked as a professor of Spanish and U.S. Latino and Latina literature for several years before moving back to Nicaragua in 1999.

Ever since adolescence I’ve enjoyed writing, but I’m a late bloomer in the writing of fiction. My college training taught me how to produce literary criticism, but after meeting and conducting interviews with several Latino and Latina novelists, I saw how much fun they were having and decided to join in.

Your upcoming novel, Meet Me Under the Ceiba, winner of the 2007 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize for Best Novel, is coming out September 30 with Arte Publico Press. What was your inspiration for this novel?

I had only been back in Nicaragua for a couple of months when newspapers published the accounts of the murder of a woman in a town called La Curva, in the province of Masaya. The circumstances were so bizarre, so shocking, and at the same time so mesmerizing that I instinctively knew the tragedy could serve as the foundation for a terrific novel. The story contains sex, greed, love, lust, and homophobia—as well as the necessary ingredients to create an enthralling mystery. At the time, however, I was committed to writing Bernardo and the Virgin, my first novel. After I mailed off the manuscript of Bernardo, I took two days off and then plunged right into Meet Me Under the Ceiba.

Is the novel coming out only in English or also in Spanish? What language do you prefer using when writing?

The novel is coming out only in English. This is the language in which I express myself with greater precision. Although I can write in Spanish—or translate anything into Spanish, for that matter—my brain is now hardwired into English. I expect that eventually Bernardo and the Virgin and Meet Me Under the Ceiba will be come out in Spanish. I live in Panama and travel on occasion to Nicaragua. I’ve also been interviewed several times for Spanish-speaking publications, perhaps because I’m seen as an anomaly: a “Latin American” novelist who writes in English. Regardless, because of this I know that there’s a lot of interest in this region to read my work. So, when the time arrives, I’d love to take part in translating both novels.

Are you a disciplined writer? Tell us a bit about your writing habits.

Yes, friends say that I’m a highly disciplined writer. That’s because when I feel I’m on to something writing feels like play, not work. But I’m not one of those supremely dedicated writers who will stay up until midnight or wake up before dawn to write. I need major blocks of time at reasonable hours; I’m talking about six to eight hours a day for months, or even years. I was fortunate to have a couple of years where I could afford to stay home and write. What a luxury! During that time, I’d work from 8 a.m. until the late afternoon, six days a week. When I’m able to take time off from my day-job I write feverishly and get a lot accomplished. But I’m back in the classroom now, which I love, to refill my bank account so that within two or three years I can stay home again to write. At present, however, I have a three-hour block in the mornings where I get as much done as I can.

What themes are important to you?

It depends on the novel. Critics have described Bernardo and the Virgin as an “epic” account of Nicaragua in the latter half of the 20th century. And because of the broad canvas of this narrative, I had the opportunity to explore every theme that possesses me: politics, history, religion, spirituality, family, war, immigration, biculturalism, the shifting traditions, superstitions, death, and so forth. Meet Me Under the Ceiba allowed me to delve into the heart of an actual murder and then explore what’s good traits, if any, such a horrendous act can bring out in us. My third novel, The Saint of Santa Fe, deals with the disappearance of Father Hector Gallego, a young Colombian priest who accepted an assignment in the then faraway mountains of Veraguas, in Panama. He was confronted with a campesino population that lived as indentured servants, and he did what was necessary to change their lives. Sadly, however, in the process of liberating his parishioners, he offended the landed gentry as well as General Omar Torrijos, the country’s strongman before General Manuel Antonio Noriega, and this cost the priest his life. I wrote The Saint of Santa Fe to better grasp the recent history and culture of Panama, my new homeland.

What kind of books do you read nowadays? Do you have any favorite authors?

At present I’m drawn to historical accounts of the arrival of the Spaniards to our continent. This is because I’m considering the life and times of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa—the first European to set eyes on the Pacific Ocean—as the subject for my next novel. A list of my favorite authors would occupy too much space. Let me just say that I love the giants—men and women—of Latin America and Spain as well as the Latino and Latina authors who have opened a path for those of us who write in English and seek to be published in the United States.

What's in the horizon? Are you working on a new project at the moment?

The manuscript of The Saint of Santa Fe is in the hands of Nina Forsythe, a dear friend and writer who is also a superb editor. I will be getting her comments back within a couple of weeks. I’ll then make the final revisions and send the novel off in search of a publisher. Also, during the past six months, or so, I have been polishing the best entries from my blog—an effort of nearly five years—for a compilation titled Harvest of My Gathering. I am pleased with the results. The collection reads smoothly and it’s an accurate reflection of my obsessions as a writer and a person. Both manuscripts should be circulating among publishers by the end of summer. After that I will start researching the life of Balboa in earnest—all the while praying that his story reveals itself to me, hitting me like a streak of lightning.

For more information, visit Silvio’s website at www.silviosirias.com

What the book trailer!

--Mayra Calvani is the author of Sunstruck, a satire set in San Juan, Puerto Rico.