Colombian literature, as an expression of the

culture of Colombia Many aspects of Colombian culture can be traced back to the early culture of Spain of the 16th century and its collision with Colombia's native civilizations (see: Muisca, Tayrona). The Spanish brought Catholicism, the feudal encomienda system, ...

, is heterogeneous due to the coexistence of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and Native American heritages in an extremely diverse geography. Five distinct historical and cultural traditions can be identified, with their own socioeconomic history: the Caribbean coast, Greater Antioquia, the Cundinamarca-Boyacá Highlands, Greater Tolima and the Western Valley. Colombia produced one of the richest literatures of Latin America, as much for its abundance as for its variety and innovation during the 19th and 20th centuries. Colombian intellectuals who forged the literature of this period also contributed decisively to the consolidation of Latin American literature.

Conquest and early colonial period (1499-1810)

Under the Spanish Empire, major literary topics included conquest narratives, chronicles, religious devotion, and love themes. Some of the best-known authors of this period are: * Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (1496Antijovio
/ref> -other sources state 1506 or 1509Graham (1922
page 2
/ref> Suesca, 16 February 1579) - First chronicler as he kept diaries of his own conquests, main conquistador of large parts of Colombia, may have been the (partial) author of ''

Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada ''Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada'' (English: ''Summary of the conquest of the New Kingdom of Granada'') is a document of uncertain authorship, possibly (partly) written by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada be ...

'' (not published until 1889), his diaries were published in 1576 *

Juan de Castellanos Juan de Castellanos (March 9, 1522 – November 1606)Jua ...

(

Alanís Alanís is a municipality in Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, i ...

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

, 9 March 1522 -

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department an ...

, November 1606) - Wrote the longest poem ever in the Spanish language, ''

Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias ''Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias'' is an epic poem written in the late sixteenth century by Juan de Castellanos. Description The work gives a detailed account of the colonization of the Caribbean and the territories in present-day Co ...

'' (1589) *

Pedro Simón ''Fray'' Pedro Simón ( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla, Spain, 1574 - Ubaté, New Kingdom of Granada, ca. 1628) was a Spanish franciscan friar, professor and chronicler of the indigenous peoples of modern day Colombia and Venezuela, at the time for ...

( San Lorenzo de la Parrilla,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, 1574 -

Ubaté Ubaté (originally Villa San Diego de Ubaté) is a town and municipality in the Ubaté Province, part of Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Ubaté is the capital of the province with the same name and situated in the Ubaté–Chiquinquirá Vall ...

, ca. 1628) - Friar who wrote '' Noticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias occidentales'' about the Spanish conquest in 1626 *

Juan Rodríguez Freyle Juan Rodríguez Freyle (also written as Juan Rodríguez Freile), ( Bogotá, New Kingdom of Granada, 25 April 1566 - Bogotá, 1642) was an early writer in the New Kingdom of Granada, the Spanish colonial territory of what today is Colombia, Ecuad ...

(

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, 25 April 1566 - Bogotá, 1642) - Spanish priest, wrote the extensive chronicle of the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose confederation of differe ...

; ''

El Carnero ''El Carnero'' ( en, The Sheep) is the colloquial name of a Spanish language colonial chronicle whose title was ''Conquista i descubrimiento del nuevo reino de Granada de las Indias Occidentales del mar oceano, i fundacion de la ciudad de San ...

'' ("The Sheep"), first published in 1638 *

Hernando Domínguez Camargo Hernando is a common Spanish given name, equivalent to Fernando and the English Ferdinand. It may refer to: Places ;Canada * Hernando Island, British Columbia ;United States * Hernando, Florida * Hernando County, Florida * Hernando, Mississippi ...

(Bogotá, 1606 –

, 1659) -

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest and writer. His work was influenced by the Spanish poet

Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...

, in a cultural trend known as the Indias

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. His most recognized works are "Epic Poem to St Ignacio of Loyola" and "Bouquet of poetic flowers" *

Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1624, Bogotá – March 29, 1688) was a Spanish Neogranadine Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Panamá (1676–1688) ''(in Latin)'' and the Bishop of Santa Marta (1668–1676).Arzobispo de Pan ...

(Bogotá, 1624 —

Ciudad de Panamá Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, 29 March 1688) - Published ''

Historia general de las conquistas del Nuevo Reino de Granada Historia may refer to: * Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal * Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel * Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics * ...

'', a major work about the Spanish conquest and the

indigenous peoples of Colombia Indigenous peoples of Colombia, are the ethnic groups who have inhabited Colombia since before the European colonization, in the early 16th century. According to the last census, they comprise 4.4% of the country's population, belonging to 115 d ...

in 1676 *

Francisco Álvarez de Velasco y Zorrilla Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

(Bogotá, 1647 –

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, 1708) - His main work was ''Rhytmica Sacra, Moral y Laudatiria''. His writings show admiration for the work of

Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, ...

and

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Sor may refer to: * Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish guitarist and composer * Sor, Ariège, a French commune * SOR Libchavy, a Czech bus manufacturer * Sor, Azerbaijan, a village * Sor, Senegal, an offshore island * Sor River, a river in the Or ...

* Francisca Josefa de Castillo y Guevara (Tunja, 1671 – Tunja, 1742) -

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, recognized as one of the most important female authors of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

for her ''Afectos espirituales'' and her ''Vida'' (memoirs).

Emancipation and national consolidation (1780-1830)

During the process of independence, Colombian literature was strongly influenced by the political motivations of the moment. The main literary movements were close to

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. During the nineteenth century, political writing was led by

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

. Local journalism was initiated by

Antonio Nariño Antonio Amador José de Nariño y Álvarez del Casal (Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia 1765 – 1824 Villa de Leyva, Colombia)Hector, M., and A. Ardila. Hombres y mujeres en las letras de Colombia. 2. Bogota: Magisterio, 2008. 25. Print. was a C ...

. The Colombian government established the first Academy of Spanish language in the American continent, in 1871. Other relevant authors were: * Camilo Torres Tenorio *

Francisco Antonio Zea Juan Francisco Antonio Hilarión Zea Díaz (23 November 1766 – 28 November 1822) was a Neogranadine journalist, botanist, diplomat, politician, and statesman who served as Vice President of Colombia under then President Simón Bolívar. He ...

. *

José Fernández Madrid José Luis Álvaro Alvino Fernández Madrid (February 19, 1789 – June 28, 1830) was a Neogranadine statesman, physician, scientist and writer, who was President of the interim triumvirate of the United Provinces of New Granada in 1814, and Pr ...

(February 19, 1789 – June 28, 1830).

Costumbrismo

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the main topic in Colombian literature was the colourful depiction of peasant life, tied to strong criticism of society and government. This type of literature was called costumbrista literature. Some of the authors of this period are: *

Tomás Carrasquilla Tomás Carrasquilla Naranjo (1858 – 1940) was a Colombian writer who lived in the Antioquia region. He dedicated himself to very simple jobs: tailor, secretary of a judge, storekeeper in a mine, and worker at the Ministry of Public ...

* Adolfo León Gómez * José María Cordovez Moure * Eustaquio Palacios *

Jorge Isaacs Jorge Isaacs Ferrer (April 1, 1837 – April 17, 1895) was a Colombian writer, politician and soldier. His only novel, '' María'', became one of the most notable works of the Romantic movement in Spanish-language literature. Biography His f ...

*Julio Arboleda *Gregorio Gutiérrez González *

Rafael Pombo José Rafael de Pombo y Rebolledo (November 7, 1833 – May 5, 1912) was a Colombian poet born in Bogotá. Trained as a mathematician and an engineer in a military school, Rafael Pombo served in the army and he traveled to the United States of Ame ...

Soledad Acosta Soledad Acosta Kemble (5 May 1833 – 17 March 1913) was a Colombian writer and journalist. A sophisticated, well-travelled, and social woman, she received a much higher and better rounded education than most women of her time and country, and ...

* Josefa Acevedo de Gomez * Candelario Obeso *

Manuel Ancízar Manuel Esteban Ancízar Basterra (25 December 1812 — 21 May 1882) was a Colombian lawyer, writer, and journalist. He founded a publishing house and a newspaper before joining the Chorographic Commission in 1850. He also served as the 4th ...

Modern literature

Modernismo and modernism are reactions against the previous literature of Romanticism. Modernism's main topics are ugliness and mystery. The main modern writers are: * Emilia Ayarza * Jose Eustasio Rivera * Rafael Maya *

León de Greiff Francisco de Asís León Bogislao de Greiff Haeusler (July 22, 1895 – July 11, 1976), was a Colombian poet known for his stylistic innovations and deliberately eclectic use of obscure lexicon. Best known simply as León de Greiff, he often us ...

* Luis Vidales * Luis Carlos López *

Germán Arciniegas Germán Arciniegas Angueyra (December 6, 1900 - November 29, 1999) was a Colombian historian, writer and journalist who was known for his advocacy of educational and cultural issues, as well as his outspoken opposition to dictatorship. He also se ...

Porfirio Barba-Jacob Miguel Ángel Osorio Benítez (July 29, 1883 – January 14, 1942), better known by his pseudonym, Porfirio Barba-Jacob, was a Colombian poet and writer. Born in Santa Rosa de Osos, Antioquia, to parents Antonio María Osorio and Pastora B ...

José María Vargas Vila José María de la Concepción Apolinar Vargas Vila Bonilla (June 23, 1860 – May 23, 1933), commonly referred to as José María Vargas Vila, was a Colombian writer and public intellectual. Vargas Vila was an autodidact, who, from an earl ...

Stone and Sky (Piedra y Cielo)

The industrialization process in Latin America during the twentieth century generated new literary movements such as the poetic movement named “Piedra y cielo” (1939). Its main authors are: * Eduardo Carranza *Jorge Gaitán Durán *Jorge Rojas *Arturo Camacho Ramírez *Augusto Pinilla

Nothing-ism (Nadaísmo)

The violent events in Colombia during the 1940s and 1950s, such as

La Violencia ''La Violencia'' (, The Violence) was a ten-year civil war in Colombia from 1948 to 1958, between the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party, fought mainly in the countryside. ''La Violencia'' is considered to have begu ...

and the military government of

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957. Rojas Pinilla gained prominence as a colonel during L ...

, as well as a considerable urban expansion, influenced in the formation of the ''Nadaísta'' (Nothing-ist) movement, which was the Colombian expression of numerous avant-garde-like movements in the poetry of the Americas during the 1950s and 60s (such as the *

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

in the United States and the ''Tzanticos'' in Ecuador). '' Nadaísmo'' included elements of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

and

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

, a dynamic incorporation of city life, and a generally irreverent, iconoclastic flavor. Authors who were part of this movement include: *

Gonzalo Arango Gonzalo Arango Arias (Andes, Antioquia, 1931 – Gachancipá, Cundinamarca, 1976) was a Colombian writer, poet, and journalist. In 1958 he led a modern literary and cultural movement known as Nadaísmo (Nothing-''ism''), inspired by surr ...

* Jotamario Arbeláez * Eduardo Escobar * Fanny Buitrago * Patricia Ariza * Jaime Jaramillo Escobar

The Boom

The

Latin American Boom The Latin American Boom ( es, Boom latinoamericano) was a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s when the work of a group of relatively young Latin American novelists became widely circulated in Europe and throughout the world. The Boom is mo ...

was a prolific period for Colombian literature. *

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Eduardo Caballero Calderón Eduardo Caballero Calderón (6 March 1910 – 3 April 1993) was a Colombian journalist and writer. As a journalist, he worked for the main Colombian newspapers, including El Tiempo and El Espectador. Also he was a diplomat from Colombia in Peru ...

Manuel Mejía Vallejo Manuel Mejía Vallejo (23 April 1923 – 23 July 1998) was a Colombian writer and journalist. The specialist Luís Carlos Molina says that Mejía represents the Andean aspect of the contemporary Colombian narrative, characterized by a world ...

Álvaro Mutis Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (August 25, 1923 – September 22, 2013) was a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist. His best-known work is the novel sequence '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll'', which revolves around the character ...

Manuel Zapata Olivella Manuel Zapata Olivella ( Santa Cruz of Lorica, Córdoba, 17 March 1920 – Bogota, 19 November 2004) was a doctor, anthropologist and Colombian writer. Biography When he was a boy, his father, the professor Antonio María Zapata Vásquez, m ...

* Andres Caicedo * Alfredo Iriarte *

Álvaro Cepeda Samudio Álvaro Cepeda Samudio (March 30, 1926 – October 12, 1972) was a Colombian journalist, novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Within Colombia and the rest of Latin America, he is known in his own right as an important and innovative writer ...

Contemporary authors

Disillusioned Generation / Generación Desencantada

This generation groups a broad and ambiguous list of writers, poets who began to publish after the ''Nadaísmo'' movement (see above) in the 1970s. Poets like Giovanni Quessep, Harold Alvarado Tenorio, Juan Gustavo Cobo Borda, Elkin Restrepo, José Manuel Arango, Darío Jaramillo Agudelo, Augusto Pinilla, María Mercedes Carranza, and Juan Manuel Roca among many others, have been considered part of this generation, although they have differences in style, themes and ideology.

Recent generations

Some writers like Cristian Valencia, Alberto Salcedo Ramos and Jorge Enrique Botero, have written literary journalism, close to Gonzo style. In fiction there are authors like Hector Abad Faciolince, Santiago Gamboa, Orlando Echeverri Benedetti, Juan Sebastian Cardenas, Nahum Montt, Miguel Mendoza Luna, Sebastian Pineda Buitrago, Mauricio Loza, Ignacio Arroyave Piedrhíta, Antonio Garcia,

Mario Mendoza Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born December 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the " Mendoza Line", ...

, James Canon, Ricardo Abdahllah, Juan Pablo Plata, Evelio Rosero Diago, Antonio Ungar, Laura Restrepo, Ruben Varona,

William Ospina William Ospina (born 2 March 1954) is a Colombian poet, essayist and novelist. He was born in Herveo, Tolima. He won the Romulo Gallegos Prize for his novel , part of a trilogy about the invasion and conquest of South America. Life William Os ...

, David Alberto Campos,

Oscar Perdomo Gamboa Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

, Juan Esteban Constain,

Juan Álvarez Juan Nepomuceno Álvarez Hurtado de Luna, generally known as Juan Álvarez, (27 January 1790 – 21 August 1867) was a general, long-time caudillo (regional leader) in southern Mexico, and president of Mexico for two months in 1855, following ...

, Andrés Del Castillo, Antonio Iriarte Cadena, Esmir Garcés, Antonieta Villamil, Winston Morales,

Efraim Medina Reyes Efraim Medina Reyes is a Colombian writer born June 29, 1967 in Cartagena, Colombia. He is also the bassist and composer of the rock band, he currently lives between Colombia and Vicenza, Italy. He is influenced by American cinema, jazz musi ...

Ricardo Silva Romero Ricardo Silva Romero (born 1975) is a Colombian writer, journalist, screenwriter and film critic. He is the author of over a dozen books in a variety of genres. In 2007, he was named as one of the Bogota39, a list of best young writers in Latin Am ...

and many others.

Recent poetry

In recent decades, in Colombia there has been a significant number of poets of importance, who deal with urban issues and anti-poetry. Among them are Antonieta Villamil, Andrea Cote, Lucia Estrada, Felipe García Quintero, whose poetry has been recognized internationally.

Poetry

* Emilia Ayarza *

José Asunción Silva José Asunción Silva (27 November 1865 in Bogotá – 23 May 1896 in Bogotá) was a Colombian poet. He is considered one of the founders of Latin American Modernismo. Life Born to a wealthy and educated Bogotá family, Asunción Silva led ...

* Piedad Bonnet * Antonieta Villamil *

Zacarías Reyán Zacarías Reyán (born May 10, 1948), is the pseudonym of Reinaldo Antonio Plazas Peralta, also known as Z. Reyán, a Colombian writer, author of novels, poems and epics in Spanish language . He was born in Chiquinquirá on May 10, 1948. At pr ...

Julio Flórez Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

Children's literature

Some of the characters most recognized in Colombian children's literature and the popular imaginary are the

stock characters A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

created by

, which are often found in

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

s, familiar folk tales and in the textbooks for elementary school. Other important children literature authors are: * Jairo Anibal Niño: with his works "La alegria de querer" (The joy of love), "Razzgo, Indo y Zas", "Catalino Bocachica" among others * Euclides Jaramillo: with the "Tales of Uncle rabbit" * From the 1980s, young adult fiction authors Gloria Cecilia Díaz, Irene Vasco, Evelio José Rosero, Yolanda Reyes and Pilar Lozano introduced new subjects for the genre such as conflict, kidnapping, death and fear. * Recent picture book voices include the work of Ivar da Coll, Claudia Rueda, Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng File:Rinrinrenacuajo.jpg, ''El renacuajo paseador'' ("The tripping

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

", also known as " Rin Rin the tadpole") File:Pastorcitapombo.jpg, ''Pastorcita'' ("Sheep keeper girl") File:Michinthecat.jpg, ''El Gato bandido'' ("The bandit cat", also known as "Michin the cat") File:Pobreviejecita.jpg, ''La pobre Viejecita'' ("Poor old Lady") File:Dumbsimonpombo.jpg, ''Simón el Bobito'' ("Little dumb Simon")