The Puerto Rican Literature Project

Manuel Ramos Otero was a poet, short-story writer, novelist, essayist, and educator. He was born in 1948 in Manatí, Puerto Rico and moved to New York City in 1968. He obtained a BA in social sciences with a concentration in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and an MA in literature from New York University. He also studied theater, film, and directing at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. In 1976, Ramos Otero founded the press Editorial Libro Viaje. He is the author of Concierto de metal para un recuerdo y otras orgías de soledad (Editorial Cultural Inc, 1971), La novelabingo (Editorial Libro Viaje, 1976), El cuento de la mujer del mar (Ediciones Huracán, 1979), El libro de la muerte (Waterfront Press/Editorial Cultural Inc, 1985), Página en blanco y staccato (Editorial Plaza Mayor, 1987), Invitación al polvo (Editorial Plaza Mayor, 1991), and Cuentos de buena tinta (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1992). His work was published in magazines such as Penélope y el Mundo Nuevo, Zona de Carga y Descarga, and Sin nombre. He taught at Rutgers University, York College, LaGuardia Community College, and Lehman College. Ramos Otero returned to Puerto Rico in 1990, where he died of AIDS at age 42.

Works Cited

 Giard, Robert. “Otero, Manuel Ramos.” April 1988. Box 218, Robert Giard Papers, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2033882.

Keehnen, Owen. “Manuel Ramos Otero - Nominee.” The Legacy Project, edited by Victor Salvo, resources coordinated by Carrie Maxwell, 2022, legacyprojectchicago.org/person/manuel-ramos-otero.

“Manuel Ramos Otero.” EnciclopediaPR, 16 September 2014, enciclopediapr.org/content/manuel-ramos-otero/.

Olmo Olmo, Jose. “Trayectoria editorial de Manuel Ramos Otero.” Claridad, 29 September 2020, claridadpuertorico.com/trayectoria-editorial-de-manuel-ramos-oter/.

“Rare Book & Manuscript Library Acquires Archive of Puerto Rican Author Manuel Ramos Otero.” Columbia University Libraries, 12 March 2014, library.columbia.edu/about/news/libraries/2014/2014-3-12_RBML_Acquires_Ramos_Otero_Archive.html.

Romero, Ivette. “New Edition: Manuel Ramos Otero’s ‘La novelabingo’.” Repeating Islands, 24 September 2011, repeatingislands.com/2011/09/24/new-edition-manuel-ramos-otero%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cla-novelabingo%E2%80%9D/.