178 CultureShock! Chile
LITERATURE
Poets
Chileans have made huge contributions to Spanish literature.
In fact, the two Nobel Prizes awarded to Chileans were both
for literature. Chile is proudest of its poets, and with good
reason. Some of the biggest names in Spanish poetry are
from Chile. Considered the first Chilean poem, La Araucana
is a famous epic piece written at the end of the 16th century
by the Spanish soldier and poet Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga
(1533–1594), who was stationed in Chile. It describes the
bravery of the Indians resisting the Spanish conquistadors.
One of the most beloved Chilean poets is Gabriela Mistral
(1889–1957), who in 1945 became the first Latin American
to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was born
Lucila Godoy Alcayaga in Vicuña (near La Serena). She was
a poor rural schoolteacher who began to write poetry after
the man she loved commit suicide. Her poems focus on
children, a mother’s love (even though she had no children
of her own), death, nature and romantic love. Her most
distinguished collection of poetry, Desolación (Despair),
was published in 1922. Her poems are magnificent in their
simple treatment of everyday topics, but they can also be
dark and complex.
Pablo Neruda (1904–1973), born Neftalí Reyes Basoalto,
won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He is best known
and admired for his poetry about love, Twenty Love Poems
and a Song of Despair, and his celebration of Latin American
culture, Heights of Machu Picchu. A number of his writings are
also political in nature, since he was a devoted communist.
Topics include poverty and the plight of the factory worker.
He was appointed the Chilean Consul in several countries
all across the globe. Neruda died of natural causes in Chile
immediately following the 1973 coup. Some say he died from
the sadness he felt for his country following the coup.
Well known contemporary Chilean poets include Gonzalo
Rojas, Diamela Eltit, Diego Maquieira and Antonio Skármeta.
Skármeta is also a fiction writer whose novel, The Postman,
was made into a successful movie telling the story of Pablo
Neruda helping his lovestruck letter-carrier.