Iván Thays is a
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
vian author, professor and television host.
Life
Thays was born on October 21, 1968, in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
. He studied languages and literature at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. After his study he continued as a professor at the same university.
[Escritores]
biography
In 1992 he published his first book, ''Las fotografías de
Frances Farmer'', which received praising critics. More books followed, like ''El viaje interior'', ''La disciplina de la vanidad'', ''Un lugar llamado Oreja de Perro'' and more. In 2006 he published the volume ''Pasajeros Perdurables - Historias de escritores viajeros'' with his selection of stories of other writers that had lived in exile.
[ Anagrama]
biography
Thays is seen as a renewer in
Peruvian literature.
Alonso Cueto wrote on him: "''There is a new generation of writers in Peru that wishes to break with the usual form of writing realistic novels. Iván Thays and
Mario Bellatin are the masters of this group young writers.''" He received positive critics of more writers. For instance
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...
described him as "''one of the most interesting writers that arose in Latin America in recent years.''"
Three times he reached the final at important award elections. In 1998 this was the case at the
Premio Copé with his
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
''La ópera gris''. In 2001 he advanced until the final with his
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
''La disciplina de la vanidad'' at the
Rómulo Gallegos Prize. Another time was in 2008 with his novel ''Un lugar llamado Oreja de Perro'' at the
Premio Herralde. In all three cases he did not receive the principal award though. In 2007 he was mentioned as one of the
39 most promising Latin American writers.
In the year of 2000 he began with the presentation of the
literary critical television program ''Vano Oficio'' on
TV Perú. This program was popular among the audience and renewing for Peru. Because of his pioneer role he was honored with a
Prince Claus Award from the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in 2001. He continued the presentation of the program until the last broadcasting in 2008.
In 2005 he started his own literary
weblog
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
, called ''Moleskine Literario''. Next to this, he is keeping up other websites as well, like the literary weblog of the
Spanish paper ''
El País
(; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
''. In 2012 he posted the article ''Con la tinta aún húmeda'' on the weblog of ''El País'' with sound criticism on
Peruvian cuisine, that he qualified as ''indigestible'' and ''little healthy''. His post led to a mounting discussion, with reactions of important persons of Peruvian society, like master cook
Gastón Acurio
Gastón Acurio Jaramillo (born October 30, 1967) is a Peruvian chef and ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. He owns several restaurants in various countries, and is the author of several books. In Peru, he is the host of a television program and ...
, journalists like
Beto Ortiz, politicians and colleague authors.
[Ortiz, Beto (February 5, 2012]
''¿Es Thays comiendo?''
Bibliography
*1992: ''Las fotografías de Frances Farmer'',
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s
*1995: ''Escena de caza'',
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
*1998: "La ópera gris", short story
*1999: ''El viaje interior'',
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
*2000: ''La disciplina de la vanidad'', novel
*2009: ''Un lugar llamado Oreja de Perro'', novel
*2011: ''Un sueño fugaz'', novel
*2011: ''El orden de las cosas, novel
Literature
*Ruz, Robert (2005) ''Contemporary Peruvian Narrative and Popular Culture: Jaime Bayly, Ivan Thays and Jorge Eduardo Benavides'', Coleccion Tamesis: Series A, Monografias, Tamesis Books,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thays, Ivan
Peruvian male writers
Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Peruvian television presenters
Living people
1968 births