Lihn, Enrique

Biographical/Historical Note

Chilean poet, artist and critic. Enrique Lihn was born in Santiago de Chile in 1929. He studied at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, first painting, then literature, and published his first book of poetry, Nada se escurre in 1949. He became a well-known poet, playwright, and novelist in Latin America. Though published in the United States, he remained relatively unknown to English readers. He taught Latin American literature at the University of Chile, and died in 1988, weeks after completing his last book, Diario de Muerto .

From the guide to the Enrique Lihn papers, 1941-1988, (Getty Research Institute)