Manuel Mejía Vallejo (23 April 1923 – 23 July 1998) was a Colombian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. The specialist Luís Carlos Molina says that Mejía represents the Andean aspect of the contemporary Colombian narrative, characterized by a world of symbols which are little by little being lost in the memory of the mountain. Doctor Honoris Causa of the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, ...

. Professor of literature at the National University of Colombia at Medellín, director of the Departmental Printing Press of Antioquia. Born in Jericó, he studied at the Bolivarian Pontifical University and studied painting and sculpture at the Fine Arts Institute of Medellín. He collaborated as a journalist in the newspaper 'El Sol''. He was the creator of Grupo La Tertulia with Gonzalo Restrepo Jaramillo and Jaime Sanín. Between 1949 and 1957 he was exiled in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. In 1978 he was named Director of the Writer's Workshop of the Pilot Public Library of

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

. His 1988 novel ''La casa de las dos palmas'' was awarded the Venezuelan Rómulo Gallegos Prize. Many of his books were set in his home area. Vallejo died in El Retiro.

Works

Novels

*''La Tierra éramos nosotros'' (1945), written at the age of 20, published at the request of Grupo Pánidas, coordinated by León de Greiff *''Al pie de la ciudad'' (1958) *''El día señalado'' (1964), Premio Nadal *''Aire de Tango'' (1973) *''Las muertes ajenas'' (1979), Special mention in the Premio Casa de las Américas *''Tarde de verano'' (1981) *''Y el mundo sigue andando'' (1984) *''La sombra de tu paso'' (1987) *''La casa de las dos palmas'' (1988), Rómulo Gallegos Prize, Shown on Colombian television. *''Los abuelos de la cara blanca'' (1991)

Short stories

*Tiempo de sequía (1957) *Cielo cerrado (1963) *Cuentos de zona tórrida (1967) *Las noches de las vigilias (1975) *Otras historias de Balandú (1990) *Sombras contra el muro (1993) *La venganza y otros relatos (1995), Classic Colombian short story. *La muerte de Pedro Canales *Riña de cuatro gallos *Que despierten sus sueños *El hombre vegetal *Aquí yace alguien *El milagro *Los julianes *La guitarra *El cielo cerrado *Miedo *Una canoa bajo el Orinoco *Palo caido *El sitio del agua

Books of poetry

*''Prácticas para el olvido'' (1977) *''El viento lo dijo'' (1981) *''Memoria del olvido'' (1990) *''Soledumbres'' (1990)

References

Bibliography

*TRONCOSO, Marino. ''Proceso creativo y visión del mundo en Manuel Mejía Vallejo. Un acercamiento al proceso cultural antioqueño''. Bogotá, Procultura, 1986. *VARÓN, Policarpo. ''Manuel Mejía Vallejo''. Bogotá, Procultura, 1989.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejia Vallejo, Manuel 1923 births 1998 deaths Colombian male writers Colombian male journalists 20th-century Colombian journalists Colombian expatriates in Venezuela Colombian expatriates in Guatemala Colombian expatriates in Honduras Colombian expatriates in El Salvador