Benjamin Alire Sáenz, first Latino winner of PEN/Faulkner award, dies aged 71

Celebrated writer, poet and novelist for young adults drew upon his sexuality and life on US southern border Benjamin Alire Sáenz, an award-winning fiction writer and poet who drew upon his sexuality and his life on the southern border, has died at age 71. He was the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner prize. Sáenz,

Sáenz, born in New Mexico, was an ordained Catholic priest who came out as gay in his 50s. He wrote the acclaimed novel "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe."

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner prize, has died at 71

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner prize, has died at 71