Francisco Coloane Cárdenas (; July 19, 1910 – August 5, 2002) was a Chilean novelist and

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

writer whose works have been translated into many languages. Some of his books were adapted to theatre and film.

Biography

He was born in Quemchi,

Chiloé Province Chiloé Province () is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). It consists of all of Chiloé Archipelago (including Chiloé Island) with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface ar ...

, on the southern Chilean island of Chiloé, and his literary career expanded from ''Perros, Caballos y Hombres'' ("Dogs, Horses and Men") in 1935 to the publication of his memoirs ''Los Pasos del Hombre'' (''The Steps of Man'') in 2000. Among his most famous works (translated into English, French, Italian, Greek, German, Polish and Dutch) are: ''La Tierra del Fuego se Apagó'' (''Tierra del Fuego Has Burnt Out'', 1945), ''Golfo de Penas'' (''Gulf of Sorrow'', 1957), ''El Camino de la Ballena'' (''The Whale's Path'', 1962), ''El Guanaco Blanco'' (''The White Guanaco'', 1980), and ''El Corazón del Témpano'' (''The Heart of the Iceberg'', 1991). Coloane was awarded the ''Premio Nacional de Literatura'' (

Chilean National Prize for Literature {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2020 In Chile, the National Prize for Literature ''(Premio Nacional de Literatura)'' was created by Law No. 7,368 during the presidency of Juan Antonio Ríos on 8 November 1942. It consists of a lump-sum monetary prize ...

) in 1964. In 1997, he was awarded the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

'' (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Republic, where he won considerable notoriety for his work in the 1990s. Coloane was an active member of the

Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile (, ) is a communist party in Chile. It was founded in 1912 as the Socialist Workers' Party () and adopted its current name in 1922. The party established a youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile (, JJ.CC), in 1932. ...

for most of his adult life, and a lover of nature who celebrated his 89th birthday by swimming in the freezing waters of the Pacific Ocean – which in his opinion kept him "vital and active".

Miguel Littín Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born in Palmilla, Colchagua Valley. CHILE. Career Miguel Littin directed ''Jackal of Nahueltoro, El Chacal de Nahu ...

's movie, ''

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

'', is based on a work by Coloane. Following his death, the Chilean government recognized him as a central figure of 20th-century Chilean literature.

Selected works

*''Cabo de Hornos'' (''Cape Horn'', 1941) *''El último grumete de la Baquedano'' (1941) *''La Tierra del Fuego se apagó'' (''Tierra del Fuego Has Burnt Out'', 1945) *''Golfo de Penas'' (1945) *''Los Conquistadores de la Antártida'' (1945) *'' Tierra del Fuego'' (1956), translated by David Petreman and Howard Curtis, Europa Editions (2008) *''El Camino de la ballena'' (''The Whale's Path'', 1962) *''El Chilote Otey y otros relatos'' (1971) *''Cuentos completos'' (''Complete Stories'', 1999) *''The Stowaway'' (1964)

References

*
Escritores de Chile (UNESCO)

Semblanzas Biograficas
Luis Mancilla Pérez 1910 births 2002 deaths People from Chiloé Province Chilean communists Chilean male novelists 20th-century Chilean male writers Chilean Marxist writers Members of the Chilean Academy of Language National Prize for Literature (Chile) winners 20th-century Chilean novelists {{Chile-writer-stub

Biography

Selected works

See also

References