Donoso, José, 1924-1996

José Donoso was a notable Chilean author of the 20th century. His early work was grounded in Chilean literary tradition, but as his work evolved to encompass influences from Europe and the United States, he gained a much wider audience and grew in stature and popularity.

José Donoso, born in Santiago de Chile in 1924, studied liberal arts at the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile and received an A.B. in English from Princeton University in 1951. He taught English literature at the Universidad Católica in Santiago and later joined the staff of the weekly magazine Ercilla. From 1965 to 1967 he was Visiting Professor at the Writers Workshop at the University of Iowa. In 1967 he moved to Spain, where he lived until his return to Chile in 1980.

He was awarded the Chile-Italia prize for journalism, and Guggenheim Fellowships in 1969 and 1974. In 1975 he taught creative writing at Princeton and Dartmouth. He died in Santiago, Chile, in 1996.

José Donoso, born in Santiago de Chile, October 5, 1924, completed high school at The Grange English preparatory school and studied liberal arts at the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile. He attended Princeton University, majoring in English, and received his A.B. degree in 1951. Upon returning to Chile he taught English Literature for several years at the Universidad Católica and in private schools in Santiago. Later he joined the staff of the weekly magazine Ercilla to write several sections including Literature, Theatre, and Painting. He stayed with Ercilla for six years. Meanwhile he received an appointment as Professor of Creative Writing in the School of Journalism of the University of Chile and later received the Chile-Italia prize for Journalism, which brought him to Italy for about six months as a guest of the Ente Turismo. From 1965-67 he was Visiting Professor at the Writers Workshop, University of Iowa, Iowa City, teaching Creative Writing under Paul Engle. In 1967, he left the United States for Spain, where he resided until his return to Santiago, Chile in 1980. In 1969, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, followed by a second in 1974. In 1975 he taught Creative Writing for one semester at Princeton and another semester at Dartmouth. He died of cancer in Santiago, Chile, December 7, 1996.

Major Published Works

Coronación (Santiago de Chile, Zig-Zag, 1957)

Coronation, translated by Jocasta Goodwin (New York, Knopf, 1965)

Este domingo (Santiago de Chile, Zig-Zag, 1965)

This Sunday, translated by Lorraine Freeman (New York, Knopf, 1967)

El lugar sin límites (Mexico, Joaquín Mortiz, 1966)

Hell Has No Limits in Triple Cross, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine and Hallie D. Taylor (New York, Dutton, 1972)

Los mejores cuentos de José Donoso, Introducción y nota bibliográfica de Luis Domínguez (Santiago de Chile, Zig-Zag, 1965-1966)

El obsceno pájaro de la noche (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1970)

The Obscene Bird of Night, translated by Hardie St. Martin and Leonard Mades (New York, Knopf, 1973)

Tres novelitas burguesas (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1973)

Sacred Families, Three Novellas, translated by Andrée Conrad (New York, Knopf, 1977)

El Charleston, Cuentos (Santiago de Chile, Nascimento, 1977)

Charleston and Other Stories, translated by Andrée Conrad (Boston, D. R. Godine, 1977)

Historia personal del "boom" (Barcelona, Anagrama, 1972)

The Boom in Spanish American Literature, A Personal History, translated by Gregory Kolovakos (New York, Columbia University Press in association with the Center for Inter-American Relations, 1977)

Casa de campo (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1978)

A House in the Country, translated by David Pritchard and Suzanne Jill Levine (London, Allen Lane, 1984)

La misteriosa desaparición de la Marquesita de Loria (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1980)

El jardín de al lado (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1981)

Poemas de un novelista (Santiago de Chile, Ganymedes, 1981)

Cuatro para Delfina (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1982)

La desesperanza (Barcelona, Seix Barral, 1986)

Curfew, translated by Alfred MacAdam (New York, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988)

Taratuta. Naturaleza muerta con cachimba (Santiago de Chile, Grijalbo, 1990)

Lagartija sin cola (Santiago de Chile, Aguilar Chilena de Ediciones S.A., 2007)