John Rechy is an award-winning and best-selling Chicano writer from the United States. Besides being a pioneer of gay American and Chicano literature, he has been an activist for gay rights and a professor of creative writing. He has written several works of fiction and nonfiction, and is most known for his landmark novel,

City of Night

(1963)—a controversial international bestseller.

The youngest of six siblings, John Francisco Rechy was born on March 10, 1931 in El Paso, Texas to Guadalupe Flores and Roberto Sixto Rechy. Although both of his parents were born in Mexico, his father was of Scottish decent, hence the Anglo last name and the noted Anglo characteristics in John Rechy’s physical features, which have shaped his life experiences and his work. Even though his father came from

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Citation: Perez, Daniel Enrique. "John Rechy". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3723, accessed 29 March 2024.]

3723 John Rechy 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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