Fernando del Paso Morante (April 1, 1935 – November 14, 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist and poet.

Biography

Del Paso was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and took two years in economics at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

(UNAM). He lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for 14 years, where he worked for the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

and in France, where he worked for

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...

and briefly served as Consul General of Mexico. He has been a member of El Colegio Nacional de México since 1996 and won several international awards, including the

Premio Miguel de Cervantes The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...

(2015), Alfonso Reyes International Prize (2013), the FIL Literature Prize (2007)

Guadalajara International Book Fair The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: ) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt's. It is also considered the most i ...

), the

Rómulo Gallegos Prize The Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize () was created on 6 August 1964 by a presidential decree enacted by Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, c ...

(1982), the Best Novel Published in France Award (1985) for ''Palinurus of Mexico'', the

Xavier Villaurrutia Award The Xavier Villaurrutia Award (Premio Xavier Villaurrutia) is a prestigious literary prize given in Mexico, to a Latin American writer published in Mexico. Founded in 1955, it was named in memory of Xavier Villaurrutia. Its jury is composed of pre ...

(1966) and the Mexico Novel Award (1976). ''Noticias del Imperio'' (1986) is an important contribution to the Latin American new historical novel. The novel, based upon the lives of

Maximilian Maximilian or Maximillian (Maximiliaan in Dutch and Maximilien in French) is a male name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1 ...

and Carlota and the French Intervention in Mexico, is called by the author a "historiographic" novel. This encyclopedic novel is remarkable in that, instead of trying to discover the "truth" about "what really happened," the author presents a number of possible versions of important and controversial events. Del Paso claimed influence from a variety of authors including

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

Erskine Caldwell Erskine Preston Caldwell (December 17, 1903 – April 11, 1987) was an American novelist and short story writer. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native Southern United States, in novels such as '' Tobacco Road'' (19 ...

, and

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

Library and Media Center

On May 14, 2007, the

Universidad de Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara () is a public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Guadalajara. Over the ...

paid homage to Fernando del Paso by naming the library and media center in

Ocotlán, Jalisco Ocotlán is a city and municipality in Jalisco, Mexico. Its industry includes furniture production. Is the seat of the Región Ciénega. Etymology ''Ocotlán'' means "near the pines" or "place of the ocote (pines)". Ocote is from Nahuatl ''ocō ...

, the "Biblioteca Fernando del Paso". This library is the largest in the western region of Mexico with a collection of 120,000 volumes and a capacity for 800 simultaneous users.

Awards

, 1966 *

, 1982 * FIL Literature Prize, 2007 * Alfonso Reyes International Prize, 2013 *

Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...

, 2015

Selected works

*''Sonetos del amor y de lo diario'' (poetry, 1958) *''José Trigo'' (novel, 1966) *''Palinuro de México'' (1976; translated as ''Palinuro of Mexico'', 1989) *''Noticias del Imperio'' (novel, 1986; translated as '' News from the Empire'', 2009) *''Douceur & passion cuisine mexicaine'' (París, 1991) *''Linda 67: Historia de un crimen'' (novel, 1995)

External links

Fernando del Paso
( El Colegio Nacional)
Fernando del Paso Library and Media Center

References

1935 births 2018 deaths BBC people International Writing Program alumni Mexican male novelists Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican novelists National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Writers from Mexico City Radio France people Premio Cervantes winners Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners {{Mexico-writer-stub