Benito Lynch (25 July 1885 - 23 December 1951) was an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
novelist and
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...
.
Biography
Lynch was born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...
. He came from a family of Irish origin who settled in the
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
region since the 18th century. They were descendants of
Patrick Lynch from
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
. He spent his childhood and adolescence on the large country estate of his grandfather
Ventura Lynch
Ventura ( Italian, Portuguese and Spanish for "fortune") may refer to:
Places
; Brazil
* Boa Ventura de São Roque, a municipality in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil
* Boa Ventura, Paraíba, a municipality in the state of Paraíba, in ...
. After the estate was sold, the family settled in
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from ...
, the newly built capital of the
Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of t ...
. Lynch was a lifelong recluse à la
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
, living all his life with two unmarried sisters in a large old house in La Plata.
An eccentric, Lynch's quirky short stories have been often filmed and dramatized. He wrote more than a hundred of them, most of them in a neo-
''gauchoesque'' manner that sometimes evokes
magic realism. He also strikes a genuinely and authentically popular vein.
He was also a sports fan. He played professional soccer in 1901. His club, Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, was founded in 1887 and is now the oldest professional soccer club in America. He played in the first organized match recorded in La Plata. He died in 1951 in
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...
, a seaside city in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Works
* Plata dorada (1909)
* ''
The Caranchos of Florida'' (1916)
* Raquela (1918)
* Las mal calladas (1923)
* ''
The Englishman of the Bones'' (1924)
* El antojo de la patrona (1925)
* Palo verde (1925)
* ''
The Romance of a Gaucho'' (1930)
* De los campos porteños (1931)
* El estanciero (1931)
* Cuentos criollos (1940)
Many stories, some worthy of anthologizing, remain uncollected. They appeared in newspapers and reviews of the time such as
La Nación
''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina.
Its motto is: "''La Nac ...
, ''El Hogar'', ''Mundo Argentino'', ''Caras y Caretas'' and ''Leoplán''.
See also
*
Argentine literature
Argentine literature, i.e. the set of literary works produced by writers who originated from Argentina, is one of the most prolific, relevant and influential in the whole Spanish speaking world, with renowned writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Ju ...
References
*Callet-Bois, J: ''La novela rural de Benito Lynch'' with bibliography, A. Sonol, Ed. La Plata, D.D.L., 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Benito
1885 births
1951 deaths
Writers from Buenos Aires
Argentine male novelists
Argentine male short story writers
Argentine people of Irish descent
20th-century Argentine novelists
20th-century Argentine short story writers
20th-century Argentine male writers