Chilean literature

Chilean literature refers to all written or literary work produced in Chile or by Chilean writers. The literature of Chile is usually written in Spanish. Chile has a rich literary tradition and has been home to two Nobel prize winners, the poets Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. It has also seen three winners of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, considered one of the most important Spanish language literature prizes: the novelist, journalist and diplomat Jorge Edwards (1998), and the poets Gonzalo Rojas (2003) and Nicanor Parra (2011).

As the native cultures of the territories known today as Chile had no written tradition, (please see Mapudungun alphabet), Chilean literature was born during the Spanish conquest of the 1500s. The conquistador Pedro de Valdivia wrote letters to the king, Charles V (Carlos Primero de España), and in one of these letters, of 1554, he admiringly describes the natural beauty and landscape of the country. Along with the conquerors came missionaries to teach and convert the native peoples to Christianity, spreading not only their religion but also their language, writing and other arts and artisan skills. Chilean literature in the time of the Spanish conquest consisted mainly of chronicles of the war of Arauco. Most soldiers with the ability to write had to use the sword more often than the pen, so during the conquest and colonisation, the main role of literature was to keep historical records of the campaign. One exception to this, however, was the poem La Araucana, published in Spain in 1569, 1578, and 1589 and also known as "The Araucaniad". La Araucana, written by Alonso de Ercilla, is the most significant epic poem in the modern Spanish language and is one of the most important works of the Spanish Golden Age (Siglo de Oro), describing the conquest of Chile in hendecasyllable verse. Later, Pedro de Oña, the first poet born in Chile, published an imitation of Ercilla, "El Arauco domado" or The Tamed Arauco in 1596.

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