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Observations on the Contemporary Peruvian Short Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Extract

During the course of the twentieth century, the short story has become the most cultivated and significant form of narrative fiction in Peru. Many of Peru's most distinguished men of letters, Enrique López Albújar, Ventura García Calderón and José María Arguedas, to name just a few, have come into prominence through their production in the genre. In testimony to its continued growing importance, one need only look to the period between 1950 and the present in which practically all the emerging young writers have used the short narrative as a vehicle for their literary efforts.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1963

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References

1 Palma, Clemente, Cuentos malévolos (Barcelona: Imp. Salvat y Cía., 1904).Google Scholar These stories had previously been published in various magazines and newspapers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

2 Many of Beingolea's short stories appeared in the early years of the century in local newspapers and magazines. These and other of his narratives were subsequently collected in a book entitled Cuentos pretéritos (Lima: SPI, 1933).

3 Their most important works are: Valdelomar, Abraham, El caballero Carmelo (Lima: Talleres de la Penitenciaría, 1918).Google Scholar Albújar, Enrique López, Cuentos andinos (Lima: Imp. Mundial, 1920).Google Scholar Calderón, Ventura García, La venganza del cóndor (Madrid: Mundo Latino, 1924).Google Scholar

4 The long continuation can be briefly summed up in the following manner: During the last years of the 1920's, a group known as the Amauta writers emerges. They are closely associated with a Peruvian periodical of that name and reflect the ideals of its famous founder, José Carlos Mariátegui. Besides focusing attention on specific rural regions and their inhabitants, they display interest in national problems, particularly in those related to the Indian. Their short-story production is characterized by emphasis on local color and social protest, often at the expense of literary qualities.

Throughout the 1930's, national themes, settings, and characters continue to form the bases of the Peruvian narrative. The major writers of the decade are José María Arguedas and Ciro Alegría, whose short stories combine a unique and understanding portrayal of Indian customs and psychology, a sincere presentation of the natives’ socio-economic problems, and highly-successful stylistic innovations. Their works represent a happy synthesis of the various currents which had developed within the rural-regional trend.

In the 1940's special attention is given to local impressions as the authors seek to reproduce the customs and folkways of provincial groups. Thus, the reader may be introduced to the superstitions or entertainment of an isolated farming community in the Marañón area or the villagers’ way of life in the remote jungle region of Saposa.

5 Dr. Alberto Escobar who has grown up with this generation and has advised in their writings, is in general agreement with the observations concerning literary influences. He has also emphasized the fact that one must be careful not to exaggerate Borges’ influence either in choice of themes or in linguistic innovations. Arreola's influence is most evident in the writings of José Durand who worked with him in Mexico during the early 1950's.

6 Martin, Enrique Congrains, Lima, hora cero (Lima: Tip. Peruana, 1954)Google Scholar, Martin, Enrique Congrains, Kikuyo (Lima: Tip. Peruana, 1955).Google Scholar

7 Barriadas is the name applied to the slum areas which are mushrooming at an alarming rate in the peripheral areas of Lima, as a result of a steady influx of people from the provinces. Migrants are forced to squat on unoccupied land on the outskirts of the city where they construct miserable huts and shanties. Without benefit of running water or minimal hygienic standards, these people live in poverty, immorality, and hopelessness. Other large Latin-American cities also face this troublesome phenomenon.

8 Ribeyro, Julio, Los gallinazos sin plumas (Lima: Círculo de Novelistas Peruanos, 1956).Google Scholar

9 Bondy, Sebastián Salazar, Náufragos y sobrevivientes (Lima: P. L. Villanueva, 1954).Google Scholar

10 Zavaleta, Carlos, La batalla (Lima: Letras Peruanas, 1954).Google Scholar

11 Vicuña, Eleodoro Vargas, Nahuín (Lima: Ausonia, 1953).Google Scholar

12 Agurto, Raúl Estuardo Cornejo, Horizontes de sol (Lima: Ed. “San Marcos”, 1957).Google Scholar

13 Ribeyro, Julio, Cuentos de circunstancias (Lima: Nuevos Rumbos, 1958).Google Scholar

14 Zavaleta, Carlos, Vestido de luto (Lima: Librería Juan Mejía Baca, 1961).Google Scholar

15 El fugitivo appeared in El Comercio, January 31, 1954, p. 1.