Rafael Díaz Ycaza (October 24, 1925 - August 28, 2013) was an

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians () are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

poet, novelist, short story writer, and columnist for the Ecuadorian newspaper

El Universo ( Spanish for "The Universe") is one of the largest daily newspapers in Ecuador. It was founded in 1921 and the first edition was published September 16 of the same year. Its headquarters are located in Guayaquil. The newspaper has been publi ...

.Writer Rafael Díaz Icaza died
He is the author of many books of poetry, and also wrote novels. His first published work was ''Statues at Sea'' (1946) and the last was ''Pure Beast Alba'', a poem anthology, published in September 2007. Rafael Díaz Ycaza rose to prominence with his poems at a young age, earning a reputation as a poet of great talent. He became one of the most popular and respected poets of Guayaquil and the country. Ycaza also wrote prose. He was also a journalist, writing the column 'Bottle Sea' in ''El Universo'' for several years. He also occupied the position of president of the Guayas branch of the

House of Ecuadorian Culture La Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (''The House of Ecuadorian Culture'') is a cultural organization founded by Benjamín Carrión on August 9, 1944, during the presidency of Dr Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra. It was created to stimulate, to direct an ...

. His stellar career and contributions to Ecuadorian literature were acknowledged in 2011, when he was awarded the Eugenio Espejo National Award.

Awards

* The "

Premio Eugenio Espejo The ''Premio Nacional Eugenio Espejo'' ("Eugenio Espejo National Award") is the national prize of the nation of Ecuador. Decrees 677 and 699 (of August 1975 and September 1997, respectively) established the prize, which is conferred by the Preside ...

" National Award in Literature * The "Aurelio Espinoza Pólit" National Award * The "José de la Cuadra" Short Story Award * The "Medardo Ángel Silva" National Poetry Award * The "Ismael Pérez Pazmiño" Award * The "Carlos Zevallos Menéndez" Medal

Works

Poetry * Estatuas en el mar (1946) * Cuaderno de bitácora (1949) * Las llaves de aquel país (1954) * El regreso y los sueños (1959) * Botella al mar (1965) * Zona prohibida (1972) * Señas y contraseñas -antología- (Guayaquil, 1978) * Mareas altas: canciones y elegías (Guayaquil, 1993) Novels * Los rostros del miedo (Guayaquil, 1962) * Los prisioneros de la noche (Quito, 1967) Short Stories * Las fieras (Guayaquil, 1952) * Los ángeles errantes (Guayaquil, 1958) * Tierna y violentamente (Guayaquil, 1970) * Porlamar (Guayaquil, 1977) * Porlatierra (Quito, 1978) * Prometeo el joven y otras morisquetas (Quito, 1986) * Consta en las antologías: El nuevo relato ecuatoriano (Quito, 1951) * Pensamiento y literatura del Ecuador: crítica y antología (Quito, 1972) * Antología del relato ecuatoriano (Quito, 1973) * Cuento ecuatoriano contemporáneo (s.f.); * Madrugada: una antología de la poesía ecuatoriana (Guayaquil, 1976) * Lírica ecuatoriana contemporánea (Bogotá, 1979) * Poesía viva del Ecuador (Quito, 1990) * La palabra perdurable (Quito, 1991) * Así en la tierra como en los sueños (Quito, 1991) * Cuento contigo (Guayaquil, 1993) * Antología básica del cuento ecuatoriano (Quito, 1998) * Cuento ecuatoriano de finales del siglos XX (Quito, 1999).

References

1925 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Ecuadorian poets Ecuadorian male short story writers Writers from Guayaquil 20th-century Ecuadorian novelists Ecuadorian journalists Ecuadorian male journalists Ecuadorian male poets Ecuadorian male novelists 20th-century Ecuadorian short story writers 20th-century Ecuadorian male writers {{Ecuador-writer-stub