Presentation

Manuel Rojas Sepúlveda (1896 --- 1973) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. His work radically changed the narrative form in the Chilean 20th century, rejecting traditional realism. He changed structures, languages, the way characters were developed, and introduced the stream of consciousness into his narrative tools. His literature deals with the instability and the misery of working class heroes, characters inspired by Rojas’ own life experience.

He is widely considered one of the most important writers in Chilean literature, especially for his novel Hijo de ladrón (Born Guilty, 1951), which has been translated into ten languages. He received the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1957, and became a university professor both in Chile and the US. He died in 1973, months before the Chilean coup d’état.