Poets - Ecuadorian Literature

Fanny León Cordero

Fanny León Cordero (Gualaceo Canton, October 15, 1920) was an Ecuadorian jurist and poet. León was a member of the Association of Contemporary Writers of Ecuador, whose annual poetry contest is named after her. In 1947 León became Ecuador’s first female jurist, she worked as a judge for 31 years.

Rodrigo Pesántez Rodas

Rodrigo Abelardo Pesántez Rodas (Azogues, July 25, 1937 – Guayaquil, April 2, 2020) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, literary critic, anthologist, researcher, university professor, and cultural promoter. He’s best known for his essays and for publishing poetry anthologies containing poems by Ecuadorians. He is especially remembered as an exponent and champion of Ecuadorian women writers. His book, “Presencia de la mujer ecuatoriana en la poesía” (1960), is a poetry anthology that contains poems by 67 Ecuadorian women writers. Other books by him include: “Panorama del ensayo ecuatoriano,” “Ocho poetas tanáticas,” “Jorge Carrera Andrade, amistad y anhelos compartidos,” and “Siete poetas del Ecuador.” As a poet, his poetry books include “Viñas de Orfeo,” “De cuerpo entero,”and “Vigilia de mi sombra.” Among the many awards he received are: the José Vasconcelos Award (an international award from Mexico) and the National Cultural Merit Medal from the House of Ecuadorian Culture. For forty years, he taught Ecuadorian Literature at the University of Guayaquil. He was a member of the House of Ecuadorian Culture.

Rita Lecumberri

Rita Lecumberri Robles (Guayaquil, November, 14, 1831 – Guayaquil, December 23, 1910) was an Ecuadorian writer and educator. She was a published and awarded poet and essayist. She is also noted for her contribution to the education of women in Ecuador. She was director of the Escuela San Alejo in 1880-82 and 1882-95. A school, (El colegio Rita Lecumberri) is named after her as well as an award.

Francisco Tobar García

Francisco Tobar García (Quito, November 3, 1928 – Quito, February 1, 1997) was an Ecuadorian poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, journalist, literary critic, diplomat, and university professor. He earned a Ph.D. in Literature from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and held teaching positions at universities such as La Plata in Argentina, the Sorbonne in Paris, and Complutense in Madrid. He revitalized Ecuadorian theater with his plays and published several notable works of poetry and fiction, including Pares o nones and Autobiografía admirable de mi tía Eduviges, which critics consider his masterpiece. He also served as a diplomat in Spain, Haiti, and Venezuela.

Galo René Pérez

Galo René Pérez (Quito, April 3, 1923 – June 18, 2008) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, literary critic, biographer, and college professor. He held various posts in literary and cultural institutions of Ecuador. He was Secretary of Public Education during the government of the former President Galo Plaza, and served as Secretary General of the Council of Government. He was also President of the House of Ecuadorian Culture and Director of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. He published 14 books in his career. His lectures, essays, articles, literary criticism have been collected and published for study abroad. His style, which is simple and elegant, has won him admirers the world over. He was the 2004 recipient of the “Premio Eugenio Espejo” Ecuador’s highest literary award.

Efraín Jara Idrovo

Efraín Jara Idrovo (Cuenca, 26 February 1926 – Cuenca, 8 April 2018) was an Ecuadorian writer and poet. Tragedy struck Idrovo in 1974, when his teenage son committed suicide. Idrovo expressed his sorrow in the form of a poem, “Weeping for Pedro Jara (structures for An Elegy),” which was published in 1978 and is considered one of Jara’s most important works. The Biographical Dictionary of Ecuador has called it “one of the greatest and most beautiful national poems ever written.” The poem is highly experimental, in that it was printed on a single 60cm by 70cm sheet of paper, divided into 15 sections, and can be read horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. He was president of the Azuay branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. In 1999, Jara was awarded the Eugenio Espejo Award, the nation’s highest literary honor.

Gonzalo Zaldumbide

Gonzalo Zaldumbide (Quito, December 25, 1884 – Quito, November 30, 1965) was an Ecuadorian writer and diplomat. He was ambassador to Paris, minister of Foreign Relations (1929) and ambassador to London (1950).

Adalberto Ortiz

Adalberto Ortiz Quiñones (Esmeraldas, February 9, 1914 – Guayaquil, February 1, 2003) was an Afro-Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, professor and diplomat. Among his most important books are: Juyungo (1942, novel; English translation by Susan Hill and Jonathan Tittler, 1983); Earth, Sound and Drum (1953, poetry); Entundada (1971, short story). His most defining feature as a writer was the incorporation of the elements of afro-Ecuadorian culture, enriching his literary vocabulary with its jargon, its elasticity and its rhythm. In 1995 Ortiz was awarded the Eugenio Espejo Prize, Ecuador’s most important literary award.

Humberto Moré

Emilio Humberto Moré, born Lalot Rivadeneira Plata (Esmeraldas, April 14, 1929 – Havana, Cuba, 1984) was an Ecuadorian painter, sculptor, muralist, poet, writer, and art critic. He is widely regarded as one of Ecuador’s most significant painters. He developed his own style which he called “Functional Signology.” His primary contribution to literature is in the areas of art criticism and poetry. His published works include: “El chasqui dormido” (1965), “Actualidad pictórica ecuatoriana” (1970), “Evaluación de los ismos” (1968), and the poem collection “Bolívar sol de América” (1983). In 2011, Moré’s son Leonardo Rivadeneira Chaw released an artistic retrospective on his father’s work entitled “Humberto Moré y su signología.”

Carlos Eduardo Jaramillo

Carlos Eduardo Jaramillo Castillo (Loja, 1932) is an Ecuadorian poet, lawyer, and former minister judge of the Supreme Court of Justice. His major works include: “Escrito sobre la arena, 150 poemas” [Written on the sand, 150 poems] (1960), “La Trampa” [The Trap] (1964), “Maneras de vivir y de morir” [Ways to Live and Die] (1965), “La noche y los vencidos” [The Night and the Vanquished] (1967) and “Las desvelaciones de Jacob” [Jacob’s Revelations] (1970). He was on the General Board of the House of Ecuadorian Culture, representing Guayas. He was also the institution’s deputy director. He was awarded the Eugenio Espejo Prize in Literature in 2007 by the President of Ecuador.

Horacio Hidrovo Velásquez

Horacio Hidrovo Velásquez (Santa Ana, May 20, 1902 – Portoviejo, April 19, 1962) was an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, and short story writer. His most celebrated work, “Un Hombre y un Río” (1957), encapsulates his profound connection to the Ecuadorian coastal life, blending vivid narrative with social commentary. Velásquez played a significant role in the cultural sphere, serving as the President of the House of Ecuadorian Culture in Manabí in 1957, where he was instrumental in promoting the arts and literature.

Luis Félix López

Luis Ramón Félix López (Calceta, August 25, 1932 – Guayaquil, December 17, 2008) was an Ecuadorian doctor and politician, as well as an award-winning novelist, short story writer and poet. He held many senior government posts during his lifetime and served two terms as president of the Guayas branch of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. His 1973 novel “Los designios,” was finalist for that year’s International Novel Award (Mexico), and his 1996 novel “La noche de rebaño,” won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize. He also published several short story books and a collection of poetry.

Pablo Balarezo Moncayo

Pablo Balarezo Moncayo (Ambato, 10 December 1904 – 23 January 1999) was an Ecuadorian poet, journalist and essayist^. He was active in the literary and cultural circles of his native city, Ambato, and in those of Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil. In Guayaquil, in 1934, he directed the Sunday Literary Supplement of the newspaper El Universo. He was named Director of the House of Montalvo in 1966 and Director of the National Library in 1972.

Víctor Manuel Albornoz

Víctor Manuel Albornoz Cabanilla (Lima, March 23, 1896 – Cuenca, October 26, 1975) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, biographer, and historian.

Simón Corral

Simón Corral (Quito, January 5, 1946) is an Ecuadorian poet and dramatist. He studied sociology at the Central University of Ecuador, and was the president of the Federation of University Students of Ecuador. He was later a professor at the Central University of Ecuador.