Pía Barros Bravo (born 20 January 1956) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an writer, best known for her short stories. She is associated with her country's literary Generation of '80.

Biography

Pía Barros left

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Melipilla Province, province of the same name. It is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region ...

, the city where she grew up, "without sorrow", together with "a good girl's destiny and the memory of the mare to which, from the age of seven, she told her poems." She moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

to study

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

in Spanish. There she also attended the workshop of Carlos Ruiz-Tagle (later, she herself would hold a famous workshop), who recommended that she stop "perpetrating poems on defenseless people" and devote herself to narrative. In 1989 she was a visiting professor at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, United States. Pía Barros, who declares herself "a very honored feminist", has stood out for her short stories, although she has also written some novels. In addition, she has published some 30 object books with literary material illustrated by prominent Chilean graphic artists, which have earned her the

FONDART FONDART or “Fondo Nacional para el Desarrollo Cultural y las Artes” (English: “National Fund for the Development of Culture and the Arts”), is a Chilean public program of the governmental agency Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes ...

() fellowship on two occasions. She also received a fellowship from the Andes Foundation, with which she wrote the first digitally distributed novel in Chile, ''Lo que ya nos encontró'', and also a writer's fellowship from the . Her stories have been published in more than 30 anthologies, from countries such as Chile, Germany, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States (some translated by Martha Manier, Diane Russell, Analisa Taylor, Amanda Powell, Jacquline Nanfito, Resha Cardone, and Jane Griffin), France, Italy, Russia, and Venezuela. In Chile, they share a publication with stories by writers such as

Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...

, Alberto Fuguet, Antonio Skarmeta,

Diamela Eltit Diamela Eltit (Santiago de Chile, 1947) is a Chilean writer and university professor. She is a recipient of the National Prize for Literature. Life Diamela Eltit graduated from college from Universidad Católica de Chile and pursued graduat ...

, and

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born 2 August 1942) is a Chilean-American writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the magical realism genre, is known for novels such as '' The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

. Barros has directed the literary workshop Ergo Sum since 1986. She is also the director of Ediciones Asterión. She is married to the poet and journalist . They have been a couple since the early 1980s and have two daughters: Abril, a

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials use ...

, and Miranda, a writer.

Works

* ''Miedos transitorios (de a uno, de a dos, de a todos)'', short stories, Ediciones Ergo Sum, 1985 (bilingual English-Spanish edition, 1993) * ''A horcajadas'', Mosquito Editores, Santiago, 1990 (bilingual English-Spanish edition, 1992). Contains 14 stories: **"Prefiguración de una huella", "Iniciaciones", "Conmiseración", "Olor a madera y a silencio", "Mordaza", "Desfiladero de Iguanas", "Diccionarios", "Duerme", "Artemisa", "Lo había odiado con pulcritud", "Navegaciones", "Trece", "Deshabitados ante la ventana", and "Los pequeños papeles" * ''El tono menor del deseo'', novel, Editorial Cuarto Propio, Santiago, 1991 * ''Astride'', novel (bilingual edition by Analissa Taylor, 1992) * ''Signos bajo la piel'', stories, editorial Grijalbo, Santiago, 1994 * ''Ropa usada'', stories, Ediciones Asterión, Santiago, 2000 * ''Lo que ya nos encontró'', digital novel, Chilelibro.com, 2001 * ''Los que sobran'', stories, Asterión, Santiago, 2002 * ''Llamadas perdidas'', minifictions, Thule Ediciones, Barcelona, 2006 * ''La Grandmother y otros'', microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2008 * ''El lugar del otro'', microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2010 * ''Las tristes'', microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2015 * ''Hebras'', microstories, Asterión, Santiago, 2020

Stories in anthologies

* "Artemisa", in ''Andar con cuentos: nueva narrativa chilena 1948-1962'', Mosquito Editores, Santiago, 1992 * "Baldosas", in ''Bajo techo'', Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, Santiago, 1995 * "Muertes", in ''Salidas de madre'', Planeta Chile, Santiago, 1996 * "Puertas", in ''Cuentos: Taller Soffia '84'' (Chile, Arcilla, 1984) * "El orden de las cosas", in ''Cuentos chilenos contemporáneos 2000'', (

LOM Ediciones LOM Ediciones («Lom», means in yaghan language: «sun») is a Chilean press based in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It ...

, Santiago, 2001)

Awards and distinctions

* Finalist for the 2003

Altazor Award The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

with ''Los que sobran'' * Finalist for the 2008 Altazor Award with ''La Grandmother y otros'' * 2011 Altazor Award for ''El lugar del otro'' * 2015 Lygia Fagundes Telles Award, given during the 8th Conference of Women Writers of Brazil * Fellowships from Fondart, Andes Foundation, and National Book and Reading Council

References

External links

Blog by Pía Barros
with some of her short stories * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barros, Pia 1956 births 20th-century Chilean women writers 20th-century Chilean novelists 20th-century Chilean short story writers 21st-century Chilean women writers 21st-century Chilean novelists 21st-century Chilean short story writers Chilean women short story writers Chilean feminist writers Living people People from Melipilla Province Chilean women novelists