Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a Chicano poet, novelist, professor and painter who lives near El Paso, Texas, just across the border from the Mexican town of Juarez. Much of his work addresses the land and people of the area.

The city of Juárez, Mexico, across the border and a short drive from El Paso, has become known as Mexico’s “murder capital,” at the epicenter of drug violence that has plagued the country and escalated since 2008. Although…