Manuel Blake Sanz is a professor of English at the University of Denver and author of the book “The Boundaries of Their Dwellings.” In 2021, Sanz won the Iowa Short Fiction award leading to the publishing of his book in October. Since the release of his first book, Sanz has traveled for readings, interviews, podcast appearances and meetings with other writers at universities across the country. 

Sanz has received praise from The New York Times and Austin American Statesmen for his work. “The Boundaries of Their Dwelling” explores immigration through short stories that take place in both the southern part of the U.S. and in Mexico. Sanz began putting together the collection of stories after noticing a pattern evolve in the literature he was writing. Themes of immigration and complications met by people divided by borders were apparent in many of the stories he was writing. When the author noticed the pattern, he began constructing the novel.

The success of his first book warranted some changes for the young author. For instance, he received an immense amount of validation for his book in the press. This led him to think more about the true impact of his message now that more people were listening. Sanz shared the experience in detail from his first award to what the collection of stories means to him.

“Being the winner of a certain contest has a certain ethos now that my work is validated as being a part of a group of prior winners. Most of my time was spent in solitude writing in a room hoping someone might find them worthy of publication. I was more focused on writing something substantial rather than thinking of an audience,” Sanz said.

The collection of stories draws from aspects of Sanz’s life growing up in Louisiana. Born to a Mexican father, Sanz felt drawn towards Mexico his whole life and the other side of his family he was unfamiliar with. He explores the idea of people affected by immigration throughout the book while unleashing a wonderfully unique lived perspective on the topic. 

The book’s title is a reference to the Bible verse used by many in the media to argue for stronger border security.

“It’s such a bizarre idea to think of in this particular century when there are so many people who live in places where their family isn’t from. I’m one of those people,” said Sanz. “And I’m not alone in that. By referring to the Bible verse early in the epigraph, I’m trying to say it’s for people who feel that disconnection. I grew up in Louisiana thinking all the time of my Mexican family.”

The full Bible verse serves as the epigraph to the book. The verse is Acts 17:26 of the Bible: “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”

“The idea behind [the epigraph] is that the verse is an argument as to why we need stronger border protection,” Sanz said. “The Bible verse has been used as a negative connotation towards immigration, and I’m pushing back at how this quote was used amongst organizations fighting for those ideals. It’s a line that comes from when Paul is traveling from place to place spreading the word of God.”

The title of the book serves as a repurpose meant to defy those using the Bible quotes as justification for increased border security. Sanz possesses the unique perspective of someone directly affected by the issues of immigration. 

His next project strays away from the theme of immigration and instead explores the contrast between someone living a life of solitude and another living a life of sin. The novel, named “The Interior Castle,” will follow two cousins. One man will be a hermit monk living in east Texas, hoping to find God through isolation and prayer. However, his traveling cousin lives the opposite life, soaking in the sin his Monk cousin renounces. 

The title of the book is a reference to St. Teresa of Avila’s book, also titled “The Interior Castle,” which explores the idea of finding God through isolation and prayer. The purpose of the book is to explore solitude and isolation in our own lives in all aspects, including isolation reminiscent of the peak of COVID-19.

“The Boundaries of Their Dwelling” is available on Amazon and in select bookstores across the country. To learn more about the author himself, visit the Sanz’s website to find information on any new events or to view any of the other’s previous work.