Wikipedia:Javier Ávila

Javier Ávila (/ɑvɪla/ AH-vee-la) is a poet, novelist, and professor.

In 2015, Ávila was named Pennsylvania Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is the first Latino to receive this award.

Ávila is the author of the poetry books La simetría del tiempo, Criatura del olvido, Vidrios ocultos en la alfombra, and El papel del difunto (Premio de Poesía Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña). Ávila is the author of the novels The Professor in Ruins (2006), La profesión más antigua (2012), Polvo (2019), and the thriller Different (2002), which was made into the movie Miente (2009).

Ávila is the creator of the one-man show, The Trouble with My Name, a performance about the American Latino experience.

Early life and education
Ávila was born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He received a bilingual education at the American Military Academy in Guaynabo. He studied English at the University of Puerto Rico, where he earned a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Literature. He holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Literary Criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.