Robert Arellano (born July 12, 1969) is an American author, musician and educator from Talent, Oregon.[1] His literary production includes pioneering work in electronic publishing, graphic-novel editions for Soft Skull Press/Counterpoint, and five novels published by Akashic Books.[citation needed] His guitar-playing for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is featured on 'I See a Darkness', which Pitchfork magazine named one of the Top 10 albums of the 1990s,[2] and since the 1980s he has been writing and recording songs for solo projects and his group Havanarama.[3]
Robert Arellano | |
|---|---|
 Arellano, live on KLDK | |
| Born | July 12, 1969 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Bob Arellano |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | Brown University |
| Organization(s) | Electronic Literature Organization; Center for Emerging Media and Digital Arts, Southern Oregon University |
| Known for | The Internet's first hyperzine, LSD-50; the World Wide Web's first hypertext novel, Sunshine ’69; international music exchanges with Cuba; guitarist with Will Oldham |
Life
editArellano was born in 1969 and raised in Summit, New Jersey. After earning both Bachelor (1991) and Masters (1994) degrees from Brown University, he taught for a decade on Brown's Literary Arts faculty. In 1993 he used Storyspace to publish the Internet's first hyperzine, LSD-50, on a Gopher server. In 1996, Sonicnet serialized his groundbreaking hypertext novel Sunshine ’69 on the World Wide Web. Arellano is a founding member of the Literary Advisory Board of the Electronic Literature Organization and founding director of the Center for Emerging Media and Digital Arts at Southern Oregon University. He has been awarded the Oregon Literary Fellowship in Fiction (2014) and a Rockefeller Foundation Literary Arts Fellowship (2016).[citation needed]
His most recent novel, Havana Libre, about the 1997 terrorist bombings of tourist destinations in Cuba, was published by Akashic Books in 2017. In 2012, Akashic published his novel Curse the Names about a reporter living and working in Los Alamos, New Mexico;[4] and in 2010 his novel Havana Lunar was a finalist for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, nominated by the Mystery Writers of America. He has published fiction and essays in Jane, The Believer, Tin House, and The Village Voice.
Works
edit- As Bobby Rabyd, LSD-50 (1993)[5]
- As Bobby Rabyd, Sunshine 69 (1996)
- the World Wide Web's first interactive novel,[6] Sunshine 69
- Fast Eddie: King of the Bees (2001) ISBN 978-1-888451-22-1
- As Eddy Arellano, Dead in Desemboque: Historias de Amor y Sangre! (2008) ISBN 978-0-9796636-4-2
- collaboration with artists William Schaff, Richard Schuler, and Alec Thibodeau on a graphic-novel tribute to Mexican comic books
- Don Dimaio of La Plata (2004), ISBN 978-1-888451-51-1
- Havana Lunar
- Nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America,[7]
- Curse the Names, (2012) ISBN 978-1-61775-030-4
- Havana Libre, (2017) ISBN 978-1-61775-583-5
Music
editAs Bob Arellano, he has played guitar with Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) on the albums I See a Darkness, More Revery, and Joya as well as in performance and on recordings with Papa M (David Pajo), Jodie Jean Marston, the Pathetics and Havanarama. In March of 2000, Arellano organized an international music exchange in Havana and Pinar del Rio, Cuba called "Rock the Blockade"[8] featuring Cuban performers in concert with Will Oldham, Papa M, Speed to Roam, and Havanarama.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Oregon Literary Fellowship Spotlight: Robert Arellano Retrieved 2018-11-27.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s - Page 10". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003.
- ^ "Music | Bob Arellano". Bobarellano.bandcamp.com. 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
- ^ Romancito, Rick, Tickling theDragon, Tempo Magazine, The Taos News, March 15–21, 2012
- ^ Coover, Robert, 'And Hypertext Is Only the Beginning. Watch Out!' New York Times Book Review, August 29, 1993
- ^ Ciccarello, Lisa. "Swiveling My Hips through the Interbunk (And Having a Great Time, Too)". Pif Magazine: January, 2000.
- ^ 2010 Edgar Award Nominations for Best Paperback Original — Thrillers, Horror, and Comics
- ^ Havanarama - Rock The Blockade: 2000 Incorruptible (CD) at Discogs