Biography Essay

Since winning the Casa de las Americas Prize in 1969 with Desnudo en el tejado (Naked on the Roof, 1969), Antonio Skarmeta has been considered one of the foremost Spanish-American writers of fiction of his generation and perhaps the leading figure in the post-Boom. The birth of this movement may indeed come in time to be dated from the 1975 publication of his first novel, Sone que la nieve ardia (translated as I Dreamt the Snow Was Burning, 1985). He has been praised by fellow writers such as Mempo Giardinelli and Ariel Dorfman and hailed by critics in Europe as well as in North and South America. His books and short stories have been translated into a dozen languages and in some cases filmed successfully. By 1992 four full-length critical books had been written about him, including one in English, as well as a flattering body of critical articles and introductions...