Peruvian Literature

Peruvian literature has its foundations in the oral traditions of the pre-Hispanic period, which unfortunately remain largely unknown.  Early chroniclers such as Inca Garcilaso, the first mixed race writer, told the first story of the history of his village, and Guaman Poma de Ayala, who preserved mythology are responsible for today's knowledge of very early Peruvian literature and storytelling. Also during this period, Titu Cusi Yupanqui, an indigenous author of royal bloodlines, began publishing his works.

The 16^th and 17^th Centuries saw neoclassical Peruvian literature gain momentum with writers from the Antarctic Academy, a society of Peruvian authors, fighting against European literary dominance. Romanticism was popular in Peruvian literature of the 19^th Century.  Also writing in this century were dramatists Manuel Asencio y Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga.

From the beginning of the 20^th Century, José Santos Chocano and José María Eguren are the best-known exponents of modernism in Peruvian literature. Cesar Vallejo championed the Avant-garde movement in amongst Peruvian authors. The second half of the 20^th Century saw the rise of important Peruvian writers such as the 2011 Nobel Literature Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Ramon Riberyo, and Alfredo Bryce Echenique. More recently, No se lo digas a nadie is worth reading, and this Peruvian novel by Jaime Bayly was recently adapted for the screen. There are many Peruvian books, and with so many styles and subjects covered in Peruvian literature, there is bound to be one you enjoy!