Poets - Ecuadorian Literature

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.

Raúl Vallejo

Raúl Vallejo, born César Raúl Enrique Vallejo Corral (Manta, June 28, 1959) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, politician and academic. He has served as the Minister of Education in the administrations of presidents Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, Alfredo Palacio and Rafael Correa, who also named him Minister of Culture and Patrimony. In the realm of literature, he is one of today’s most prolific writers, and has won many national and international awards, such as the Royal Spanish Academy Award (Spain), José Lezama Lima Poetry Prize (Cuba). In 1999 his books Huellas de amor eterno (short stories) won the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize and Acoso Textual (a novel) won his second Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.

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.

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Rafael 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.

“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.

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).

Paúl Puma

Paúl Puma (Quito, 1972) is an Ecuadorian poet, playwright, and literary critic. He has a master’s in Latin American literature from the Simón Bolívar Andean University, Ecuador, and a PhD from the University of Alicante, Spain. Among his best known works are the poetry book Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala (winner of the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize, 2002), and the science fiction theatre piece Mickey Mouse a Gogo (winner of the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize, 2017). In 2017 Puma published El tesoro de los llanganatis (The Treasure of the Llanganates) with an English translation by Jonathan Simkins.

Carlos Vallejo

Carlos Vallejo Moncayo (born in 1973) is a writer from Quito, Ecuador. His poetry book La orilla transparente (2007) earned the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Prize for Literature. In 2009 he was awarded the César Dávila Andrade National Literature Prize.

Julio Pazos Barrera

Julio Pazos Barrera is a poet, writer, teacher, and cook. He was born in Baños, Ecuador on August 19, 1944. In 1979, Pazos’ poetry book La ciudad de las visiones was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 1982, his book Levantamiento del país con textos libres was awarded Latin America’s most prestigious literary award, the Casa de las Américas Prize (Havana, Cuba). Pazos is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Letras del Ecuador published by the Ecuadorian House of Culture. He is a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. In 2010, Pazos was awarded Ecuador’s top literary prize Premio Eugenio Espejo by President Rafael Correa.

Carlos Benavides Vega

Carlos Benavides Vega, pseudonym: Álvaro San Félix (Guayaquil, March 9, 1931 – Quito, September 29, 1999) was an Ecuadorian poet, actor and playwright. He was a member of Club 7, a Guayaquil-based poets’ group founded in the 1950s. In 1954, Benavides was among one of five members who together published a poetry collection titled “Club 7.” He was a pioneer of historical drama, authoring the plays, “La herida de Dios” (1978; winner of the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize) about Gabriel Garcia Moreno, “Espejo, elias Chushig” (1979), and “Caudillos en llamas” (1980). He also co-wrote “Una loca Estrella,” a historical play about Manuelita Sáenz, with Pedro Saad Herrería.

Marco Vinicio Rueda

Father Marco Vinicio Rueda Gomezjurado was a Jesuit priest, philosopher, anthropologist, writer, educator. He was born in Quito, Ecuador on August 12, 1914 and died in the same city on March 13, 2005. Rueda was an exponent of Zen in Ecuador. Rueda’s most notable books are concerned with philosophy, anthropology and Zen.

Jorge Carrera Andrade

Jorge Carrera Andrade (Quito, September 18, 1903 – Quito, November 7, 1978) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, diplomat, and university professor. He was widely regarded as one of the most influential Latin American poets of the twentieth century both during his lifetime and after his death. Muna Lee’s critically-acclaimed translation of his poetry collection, Secret Country (1946), brought him to prominence in the United States. He lectured at Stony Brook University in the Department of Romance Languages in 1970-1972, he also guest lectured at Harvard University and Vassar College during this period. Most of his poetry has been translated into French, German, Russian and English.

“The images of Jorge Carrera Andrade are so extraordinarily clear, so connected to the primitive I imagine I am…participating in a vision already lost to the world. It is a place melancholy but grand.”
William Carlos William

Andrea Crespo

Andrea Priscila Crespo Granda (Guayaquil, October 4, 1983) is an Ecuadorian poet. In 2016 her book of poetry “Registro de la habitada” was awarded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize. In 2017 her next book of poetry “Libro Hémbrico” won the House of Ecuadorian Culture’s David Ledesma Vásquez National Poetry Contest. She currently teaches at the University of the Arts in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Aurelio Espinosa Pólit

Aurelio Espinosa Pólit (Quito, July 11, 1894 – Quito, January 21, 1961) was an Ecuadorian Jesuit priest, writer, poet, translator, literary critic, and university professor. He co-founded the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and served as its first rector, making significant contributions to education in the country. Renowned for his translations of Latin poets Virgil and Horace, as well as Greek playwright Sophocles, into Spanish, he was a prolific writer who produced over 600 works in his lifetime. Espinosa Pólit also founded the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Museum and Library in Quito, which became a cornerstone for Ecuadorian literary heritage. In recognition of his impact on literature and culture, the prestigious Aurelio Espinosa Pólit Prize for Literature was named in his honor.

Huilo Ruales

Huilo Ruales Hualca (Ibarra, Ecuador, March 25, 1947) is a prominent Ecuadorian writer whose work spans multiple genres, including novels, short stories, poetry, theater, and chronicles. Known for his exploration of marginalized characters and social outcasts, Ruales’ gritty and poetic prose has garnered significant recognition, including the Premio Joaquín Gallegos Lara (1989) and the Premio Aurelio Espinosa Pólit (1994). His writing has been translated into several languages, and he currently resides in Paris, France.