Uruguayan literature has a long and eventful history.

Beginnings

Literature properly speaking starts in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

with the country-flavoured poetry of Bartolomé Hidalgo, 1788-1822. The two leading figures of the Romantic period are Adolfo Berro and

Juan Zorrilla de San Martín Juan Zorrilla de San Martín (28 December 1855 – 3 November 1931) was an Uruguayan epic poet and political figure. He is referred to as the "National Poet of Uruguay". Well-known poems Two of Zorrilla's best-known poems are '' Tabaré'' ...

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''Modernistas''

Julio Herrera y Reissig Julio Herrera y Reissig (January 9, 1875 – March 18, 1910) was a Uruguayan poet, playwright and essayist, who began his career during the late Romanticist period and later became an early proponent of Modernism. Background He was the son o ...

was one of the fin-de-siècle ''modernistas'', two leading women are

Juana de Ibarbourou Juana Fernández Morales de Ibarbourou, also known as Juana de América, (March 8, 1892 – July 15, 1979) was a Uruguayan poet and one of the most popular writers of Spanish America. Her poetry, the earliest of which is often highly erotic, is ...

, who was one of the most popular writers of

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...

, and

Delmira Agustini Delmira Agustini (October 24, 1886 – July 6, 1914) was a Uruguayan poet of the early 20th century. Biography Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, she began writing when she was ten and had her first book of poems published when she was still a teenag ...

Emilio Frugoni Emilio Frugoni Queirolo (March 30, 1880 – August 28, 1969) was a Uruguayan socialist politician, lawyer, poet, essayist, and journalist. He founded the Socialist Party of Uruguay (PS) in 1910 and was its first general secretary, as well as it ...

and Emilio Oribe were distinguished lyricists.

Other important figures

Outstanding among the prose and fiction figures are

Juan Carlos Onetti Juan Carlos Onetti Borges (July 1, 1909 – May 30, 1994) was a Uruguayan novelist and author of short stories. Early life Onetti was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was the son of Carlos Onetti, a customs official, and Honoria Borges, who be ...

Carlos Martínez Moreno Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's pre-eminent man of le ...

, Felisberto Hernández,

Mario Benedetti Mario Benedetti Farrugia (; 14 September 1920 – 17 May 2009), was a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet and an integral member of the Generación del 45. Despite publishing more than 80 books and being published in twenty languages, he ...

, Tomás de Mattos,

Mauricio Rosencof Mauricio Rosencof (born June 30, 1933) is a Uruguayan playwright, poet and journalist from Florida, Uruguay. From 2005 to 2020 he has been Director of Culture of the Municipality of Montevideo. He was a founder of the Communist Youth Union and ...

and

Jorge Majfud Jorge Antonio Majfud Albernaz (born September 10, 1969) is a Uruguayan–American professor and writer. Early life Majfud was born on September 10, 1969, in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. He is of paternal Lebanese descent of the Christian faith, as h ...

Horacio Quiroga Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza (31 December 1878 – 19 February 1937) was a Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer. The jungle settings of his stories emphasized the conflict between humans and nature. His portrayals of mental ...

was a popular playwright and short-story writer. Constancio C. Vigil was once a beloved, if highly moralistic, children's writer.

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

, while Argentine, was a commentator on the Uruguayan historical and cultural scene; some of his characters are realistically

an.

Florencio Sánchez Florencio Sánchez (January 17, 1875 – November 7, 1910) was a Uruguayan playwright, journalist and political figure. He is considered one of the founding fathers of theater in the Río de la Plata, River Plate region of Argentina and Urugua ...

remains Uruguay's most famous theater writer.

Writers from Northern Uruguay

While many of

's writers have been primarily connected with the capital

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, a number have been identified with the north of the country.

References

External links