Background
Victor Martinez was born on February 21, 1954 in Fresno, California, United States, into the family of migrant agricultural field workers of the Central Valley. He was one of twelve children.
Victor Martinez was born on February 21, 1954 in Fresno, California, United States, into the family of migrant agricultural field workers of the Central Valley. He was one of twelve children.
Victor attended California State University at Fresno and later received a graduate degree from Stanford University on a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship.
Victor began writing as a poet and published his first book of poetry, "Caring for a House," in 1992. In 1996 he wrote his most famous novel "Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida." Martinez wrote the novel for adults but an editor suggested promoting it in the young-adult fiction market. It has been translated into languages including Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and German, and widely acclaimed by young people around the world.
Victor also supported himself with jobs as a welder, truck driver, firefighter, teacher, and office clerk. Moreover, he was a contributor to periodicals and journals, including Iowa Review and Bloomsbury Review. In February 2011, he died of lung cancer at age 56 in San Francisco.
Victor was married to a woman named Tina.