Playwright Nilo Cruz already has a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for his drama, Anna in the Tropics, which was set in Tampa's Ybor City.
Now he's thinking about what he will work on to fulfill The Greenfield Prize. Right now, he's considering Mexico for the setting, but all that could change. Cruz said for him, writing is about process and his process is helped along by visuals such as Joseph Cornell boxes to create an "image that will help you enter the writing."
Cruz was born in Cuba and his family immigrated to Miami's "Little Havana" neighborhood when he was a boy. And he said he needs to be near the water to create, and to meditate. Part of the Greenfield Prize is time to work at the Hermitage Artists Retreat. It's a lovely little enclave of historic buildings set on Englewood Beach.
With this weekend's award, Cruz becomes the first Florida artist and the first Latino artist to receive the Greenfield Prize.
Cruz will speak this weekend at the Cook Theater in the FSU/Asolo Center for the Performing Arts at 1:00 on Saturday. It's free, but reservations are needed. You can make them by calling 941-351-8000. To find out more about the Greenfield Prize weekend events, check here.
