In addition to achieving great fame as a poet, José Coronel Urtecho was a prose writer, essayist, playwright, historian, and disseminator of Nicaraguan culture. His work is extensive, although much of it remains uncollected in book form. During his lifetime he was also recognized as an extraordinary conversationalist and as a mentor to many younger writers and politicians.

Coronel Urtecho was born in Granada, Nicaragua, on 28 February 1906 to Manuel Coronel Matus, a lawyer, and Blanca Urtecho Avilés, a homemaker. Descended from a politically active family, he learned at an early age about the power of political parties. Manuel was violently liberal, anti-imperialist, and anti-Yankee. He occupied various government positions during the presidency of José Santos Zelaya (1883-1909). When his son was only four years old, Manuel--angered and depressed by the rise of the Conservative Party in Nicaragua--committed suicide.

Although Coronel Urtecho was raised in...