Poets - Ecuadorian Literature

Remigio Crespo Toral

Remigio Crespo Toral was an Ecuadorian poet and writer. He was born in Cuenca on August 4, 1860 and died In the same city on July 8, 1939. In 1905, President Leónidas Plaza Gutiérrez appointed him lawyer of the Republic, to defend Ecuador in its diplomatic conflict with Peru. In 1909, in the centennial of the first cry of independence, Crespo Toral published a book titled Cien años de emancipación. In 1917, he was crowned national poet, by decree of the President Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno, in the Central Park of Cuenca. This was a very important ceremony, which was attended by the entire city, including senior officials like President Baquerizo Moreno, the Ambassadors of the United States, Belgium, Chile, Peru, among others. In 1925, he was appointed Rector of the University of Cuenca, holding this post until his death.

Mary Corylé

María Ramona Cordero y León (Cuenca, May 21, 1894 – Cuenca, May 7, 1976) was an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, journalist, and playwright best known by her pseudonym Mary Corylé. She gained prominence with her poetry collection Canta la vida (1933), which challenged conservative societal norms with its bold themes, including early examples of eroticism in Ecuadorian literature, as seen in her famous poem Bésame (1925). A defender of women’s rights and a prolific writer, Corylé published over 100 works across various genres and also contributed to journalism, education, and archival work, including founding the Municipal Library of Cuenca.

Numa Pompilio Llona

Numa Pompilio Llona (Guayaquil, March 5, 1832 – April 5, 1907) was an Ecuadorian poet, lawyer, journalist, educator, diplomat, and philosopher. He served as a diplomat abroad, in countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Colombia, during which time he formed friendships with famous authors such as Victor Hugo, George Sand and Alphonse de Lamartine. He served as the rector of the University of Guayaquil, and also as the director of the Municipal Museum and Library of Guayaquil. During his lifetime he was one of Ecuador’s most popular poets.

Joaquín Gallegos Del Campo

Joaquín Gallegos Del Campo was an Ecuadorian modernist poet, newspaper publisher, and liberal politician. He was the father of the legendary author Joaquín Gallegos Lara. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on July 27, 1873. In 1894, he and his brother Emilio founded the liberal weekly newspaper El Cáustico. In 1896, he founded another liberal newspaper, América Modernista, which published many modernist poets of the era. On November, 20, 1910, while serving as Secretary-General of the Government of El Oro Province, he was killed by a stray bullet during a revolutionary riot gunfight when he looked out his office window from the government building to see what was happening. At the time of his death his only son was less than 2 years old. In 1912, his only book Mis recuerdos: poesías líricas y cuentos en prosa was published posthumously by his window Emma Lara Calderón.

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.

Ernesto Carrión

Ernesto Javier Carrión Castro (Guayaquil, 1977) is a distinguished poet and novelist whose work has won numerous awards and has been widely recognized both in his home country and internationally. His literary career began to gain momentum in 2002 when he was awarded the César Dávila Andrade National Poetry Prize for “Carni vale”. Over the years, Carrión Castro’s unique voice and innovative storytelling have earned him several prestigious awards such as the Jorge Carrera Andrade National Poetry Prize for “Viaje de Gorilas” in 2013, and the Casa de las Américas Novel Prize for “Incendiamos las yeguas en la madrugada” in 2017. His book “El día en que me faltes” won the Lipp Novel Prize in 2017. Most recently, in 2019, his novel “El vuelo de la tortuga” won the Miguel Donoso Pareja Prize. In 2023, Carrión Castro’s continuous contribution to literature was recognized with the Gonzalo Rojas Residency Scholarship. His ability to weave compelling narratives with poetic language has solidified his status as one of the most significant contemporary writers in Latin America.

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.

Go to Recording

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.