José Miguel Oviedo facts for kids

José Miguel Oviedo (born in 1934, died in 2019) was a famous writer and literary critic from Peru. He was born in Lima, the capital city. He studied a lot and earned a special degree called a doctorate in 1961. After that, he taught at the same university, the Pontificia Universidad Católica.

Later, in 1975, he moved to the United States. There, he taught at several big universities like the State University of New York, Indiana University, and UCLA. In 1988, he became a special professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He taught about Latin American literature there until he retired in 2000. He also received important awards, like the Guggenheim fellowship.

What He Wrote About

Oviedo was best known for studying and writing about Peruvian and Latin American literature. He wrote critical reviews about many authors, including Ricardo Palma, Mario Vargas Llosa, and José Martí. A literary critic helps people understand books better by writing about them.

He also put together many collections of writings. These collections are called anthologies. He made anthologies of Peruvian stories and poems, Cuban short stories, and short stories from 19th-century Latin America. He was good friends with the famous writer Mario Vargas Llosa. Vargas Llosa even dedicated his book Who Killed Palomino Molero? to Oviedo in 1987.

His Big Book Series

His most important work was a history of Latin American literature. It was a huge project published in four parts between 1995 and 2000. The series was called Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana.

The four parts were:

• De los orígenes a la Emancipación (published in 1995)
• Del Romanticismo al Modernismo (published in 1997)
• Postmodernismo, Vanguardia, Regionalismo
• De Borges al presente (published in 2000)

His Short Stories

José Miguel Oviedo also wrote his own short story collections. These books showed his creative writing side.

Some of his short story collections include:

• Soledad & Compañía (1987)
• La vida maravillosa (1988)
• Cuaderno imaginario (1996)

The Oviedo Award

To honor José Miguel Oviedo, the University of Pennsylvania created a special award. It's called the "José Miguel Oviedo Undergraduate Student Paper Award in Latin American and Latino Studies." This award is given to college students who write excellent papers about Latin American and Latino studies.

His Passing

José Miguel Oviedo passed away in Philadelphia, United States, when he was 85 years old.

See also

In Spanish: José Miguel Oviedo para niños