Jaime Manrique (born 16 June 1949) is a bilingual Colombian American novelist, poet, essayist, educator, and translator. His work is a representation of his cultural upbringing and heritage mixed with the flavors of his education in English. A primary distinction of his work comes from his bilingualism, and his choice to write in both English and Spanish. Many of his novels are published in English whereas his poetry is often printed and shared in Spanish. Manrique's writing covers a variety of themes and topics with some of his more notable works ranging from talking about his father's corpse and the adventures of a young gay Colombian immigrant. Therefore, Manrique's personal life and experiences can clearly be visualized in his writing and appreciated in his bilingual works. Background Manrique was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. He lived his childhood between the city of his birth and Bogotá. In 1966, he emigrated with his mother to Lakeland, Florida. He received a B.A. in English literature at the University of South Florida in 1972. In 1974, Manrique met Pauline Kael, The New Yorker'''s film critic, with whom he began a friendship that lasted until her death in 2001. His book Notas de Cine: Confesiones de un Crítico Amateur (1979), is dedicated to Kael. In 1977, Manrique received permission from the Argentine novelist Manuel Puig to join a workshop that Puig taught at Columbia University. Manrique was working on El cadáver de papá (1980). Puig encouraged him to continue writing fiction when he said that he liked his writing because "it came from under the epidermis." They became friends after that. Manrique described their friendship in The Writer As Diva, an essay included in Eminent Maricones. Also in 1977, Manrique met the American painter Bill Sullivan. The couple lived between Colombia and Venezuela until the end of 1979. Until Sullivan's death in 2010, they remained partners. Jaime Manrique began his career as university professor in the US in 1987 at the Eugene Lang College of The New School for Social Research (The New School). His career as educator continues to this day. Writing career His first poetry volume Los Adoradores de la Luna, won Colombia's National Poetry Award in 1975. His first novel published in English was Colombian Gold in 1983. In 1992 he published Latin Moon in Manhattan. About this novel James Dao wrote in The New York Times: "A picaresque tale about a