Elysa Ayala González, sometimes spelled Elisa Ayala González (Guayaquil, 1879 – 1956) was an Ecuadorian writer and painter. She was Ecuador’s first fiction writer and the first woman to write stories about montubios, the poor and simple peasants from Ecuador’s coast. Because of the sexist and conservative climate in Ecuador at the time, Elysa’s early works appeared mostly in foreign magazines, such as Nubes Rosadas and Revista Argentina (Argentina), Sucesos and El Nacional (Chile), Adelante (Uruguay), Hero and Cosmos (Cuba), América (the United States), and La Voz de Valencia (Spain). In Ecuador, her stories appeared in La Ilustración and some other magazines. Being fluent in English and French, she translated some of her stories into these languages. It should be noted that part of her literary work remains unpublished, including a novel about the peasant class, which was her preferred motif.
Continue reading “Elysa Ayala”Category: 20th Century Writers
Violeta Luna
Morayma Violeta Luna Carrera is an Ecuadorian poet, essayist, journalist, literary critic, professor. She was born on February 24, 1943 in Guayaquil. She is a member of various organizations, including the Press Circle of Ecuador, the Society of Ecuadorian Writers, and the House of Ecuadorian Culture.
Carlos Béjar Portilla
Carlos Béjar Portilla (Ambato, February 17, 1938) is a prominent Ecuadorian writer, poet, and lawyer, who significantly developed the science fiction genre in Ecuador during the latter half of the 20th century. His works, such as Simón el mago (1970) and Tribu sí (1981), are known for blending futuristic and fantastical themes with societal commentary, offering a fresh and modern take on speculative fiction. Béjar’s contributions revitalized the genre and expanded its presence in Ecuadorian literature, distinguishing him as a key figure in the country’s literary evolution. He is also a founding member of the Society of Writers of Ecuador.
Continue reading “Carlos Béjar Portilla”Jorge Enrique Adoum
Jorge Enrique Adoum, or Jorgenrique Adoum (Ambato, June 29, 1926 – Quito, July 3, 2009) was an Ecuadorian poet, novelist and playwright. Adoum is best known for his poetry collections and his celebrated novel Entre Marx y una mujer desnuda (1976). He is regarded as one of Ecuador’s most important writers and intellectuals of the 20th century. Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda hailed Adoum as “the best Latin American poet of his generation.” An English translation of Adoum’s poetry was published by Katherine M. Hedeen and Víctor Rodríguez Núñez under the title “prepoems in postspanish and other poems” (Action Books, 2021). This collection includes three of Adoum’s most groundbreaking books: “Currículum mortis” [Curriculum Mortis] (1973, 1979), “prepoemas en postespañol” [prepoems in postspanish] (1973, 1979), and “El amor desenterrado” [Love Disinterred] (1993). In 1989 the President of Ecuador conferred on Adoum Ecuador’s highest literary prize, the Eugenio Espejo Award, for his lifetime of literary work.
Continue reading “Jorge Enrique Adoum”Joaquín Gallegos Lara
Joaquín Gallegos Lara (Guayaquil, April 9, 1909 – Ibidem, November 16, 1947) was an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, and literary critic. His works often reflected the social and political issues of his time, including poverty, inequality, and injustice. He was a member of the Communist Party of Ecuador and was imprisoned many times for his political convictions. Lara was born with Pott’s Disease, a rare spinal disease which caused paralysis in his legs. Due to his inability to walk, he was unable to attend school and instead devoted himself to self-study at home, in which time he mastered the French, German, Italian, and Russian languages. He was a member of the “Guayaquil Group,” and has been described as the group’s spiritual leader. The book of short stories “Los Que Se Van” [Those Who Leave] (1930), co-authored with Demetrio Aguilera Malta and Enrique Gil Gilbert, marked the beginning of literary social realism in Ecuador. His most famous novel, “Las cruces sobre el agua” [Crosses on the Water] (1946), is concerned with the November 15, 1922 massacre of striking workers in Guayaquil. Despite his brief life, Joaquín Gallegos Lara’s works are still widely read and continue to be studied and recognized for their profound impact on Ecuadorian literature.
Continue reading “Joaquín Gallegos Lara”Homero Viteri Lafronte
Homero Viteri Lafronte (Ambato, January 24, 1892 — Santiago, Chile, November 10, 1976) was an Ecuadorian writer and historian whose published works include historical monographs and conference papers. He earned a jurisprudence doctorate from the Central University of Ecuador. In 1949 he was the head of the Ecuadorian delegation to the U.N. in Lake Success, NY. He was several times President of the Legal-Literary Society of Quito and belonged to several national and international institutions, and also served as the deputy director of Ecuador’s National Academy of History.
Continue reading “Homero Viteri Lafronte”Marco Antonio La Mota
Marco Antonio La Mota was an Ecuadorian journalist, poet and short story writer. He was a staff writer for the newspaper El Telegrafo. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The date of his birth is unknown; it is known he died in 1946. In 1941 La Mota published a book of short stories titled Las huellas de una raza with a foreword by Joaquín Gallegos Lara (1909-1947).
Continue reading “Marco Antonio La Mota”Pablo Palacio
Pablo Arturo Palacio Suárez (Loja, January 25, 1906 – Guayaquil, January 7, 1947) was an Ecuadorian writer, lawyer, and early figure of the avant-garde literary movement in Latin America. Known for his daring, unconventional works that broke from Ecuador’s prevailing social realism, Palacio explored themes of alienation, mental illness, and societal hypocrisy. His short story Un hombre muerto a puntapiés, published in a 1927 collection of the same name, shocked readers with its portrayal of a brutal, senseless murder and implicit references to homosexuality—a first in Ecuadorian literature. In the novella Débora (1927), he delves into complex psychological states, creating one of Latin American literature’s early anti-romantic narratives. Though his career was brief, ending in severe mental illness that led to his premature death at 40, he is regarded by critics today as a foundational figure whose works anticipated elements of surrealism and modernist experimentation in Latin American literature.
Continue reading “Pablo Palacio”Benjamín Carrión
Benjamín Carrión Mora (Loja, April 20, 1897 – Quito, March 8, 1979) was one of the great Latin American intellectuals of the 20th century. He was a lawyer, writer, novelist, poet, essayist, biographer, literary critic, legislator, diplomat, educator and cultural promoter. His most notable literary work is Atahualpa (1934), a biography written in story form about the last Inca emperor, which has been translated into English and French. In 1944 Carrión founded the House of Ecuadorian Culture, which preserves and promotes many aspects of Ecuador’s culture, including music, dance, art, literature, theater and film. Considered Carrión’s greatest achievement and legacy, this organization maintains several museums, libraries and performance venues throughout Ecuador, as well as a printing press which has been instrumental in publishing many noteworthy Ecuadorian authors.
Continue reading “Benjamín Carrión”Alicia Yánez Cossío
Alicia Yánez Cossío (Quito, September 10, 1928) is an Ecuadorian novelist, poet, short story writer, and journalist. She is considered one of the 2oth Century’s most important literary figures of Ecuador and Latin America. Since 1991 she has been a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. In 1996, with her novel El cristo feo (1995), Yánez became the first Ecuadorian to win the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize (Guadalajara, Mexico), one of the most prestigious awards for female authors in the Spanish speaking world. In 2008 she received Ecuador’s highest literary award, the Eugenio Espejo Award, for her lifetime of work.
Continue reading “Alicia Yánez Cossío”Juan Manuel Rodríguez López
Juan Manuel Rodríguez López is a novelist, short story writer, literary critic, columnist and professor. Born in Bilbao, Spain in 1945, Rodríguez is a naturalized Ecuadorian citizen and has lived in Quito most of his adult life. Rodríguez’ award-winning fiction includes the novels El poder de los vencidos (2003), El pulso de la nada (1996), and El Espantapájaros (1990 & 1995). In 1990, his short story collection Fricciones won the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize.
Continue reading “Juan Manuel Rodríguez López”Ecuadorian poet and novelist Rafael Díaz Ycaza reading from his poetry and prose
Ecuadorian poet and novelist Rafael Díaz Ycaza reading from his poetry and prose. Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape (Library of Congress, Control Number 93842308), Recorded Mar. 27, 1977, in the Library of Congress Recording Laboratory, Studio B, Washington, D.C. Recorded for the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape. Production level cataloging. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.
Go to RecordingRafael Díaz Ycaza
Rafael Díaz Ycaza (Guayaquil, October 28, 1925 – August 28, 2013) was a poet, novelist, short story writer and columnist. His notable works include poetry collections such as “Statues at Sea” (1946), “Botella al Mar” (1964), and “Zona Prohibida” (1972), each resonating with his lyrical style and profound imagery. Among his novels are “Los Rostros del Miedo” (1962) and “Los Prisioneros de la Noche” (1967). Beyond his literary achievements, Díaz Ycaza was honored with various awards and recognitions, including the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize (1985)” and the “José de la Cuadra National Short Story Prize (1967). In 2011, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa awarded Díaz with the the nation’s highest literary distinction, the Eugenio Espejo National Prize, for his lifetime of literary work.
Continue reading “Rafael Díaz Ycaza”“His book [Zona prohibida] was like a bible for the youth of my generation, especially for its social poetry.”
Sonia Manzano (Poet) – quoted in “Rafael Díaz Ycaza, el hombre que dedica su vida a las letras,” El UNIVERSO, Sept 2, 2011.
Iván Carvajal
Iván Carvajal Aguirre is a poet, writer and professor. He was born in 1948 in San Gabriel, Ecuador. In 1984 his work entitled Parajes earned the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 2013 he won the Premio a las Libertades Juan Montalvo. He was part of the Tzantzismo literary movement of the 1960s Ecuador. He lives in Quito and is a Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.
Continue reading “Iván Carvajal”Jorge Martillo
Jorge Martillo Monserrate is an award-winning poet and has been a columnist for various newspapers. He was born on May 2, 1957 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He has published the poetry books: Aviso a los navegantes (1987); Fragmentarium (1991); Confesiorarium (1996) and Vida póstuma (1997). He was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize (1991).
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