Antonio Skármeta (1940) is a well-known Chilean-born short story writer, novelist and playwright, considered one of the greatest exponents of literature in Latin America and the world. Several of his works have reached the cinema in an exceptional way, captivating audiences for their content and direction.
Due to the quality and significance of his work, he has been the recipient of a large number of national and international awards. Among these, the 1968 Casa de las Américas Prize, the Llibreter Prize, the Foreign Medici Prize and the Grinzane Cavour Prize stand out..
His works, in the different literary genres that he handles, have received great reception in different continents. These include: One by one: complete stories, Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 1996 (anthology), The cyclist of San Cristóbal, 1973 (short story anthology) and I dreamed that the snow was burning, 1975 (novel).
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The writer Esteban Antonio Skármeta Vranicic was born in the Chilean city of Antofagasta on November 7, 1940. His father was Antonio Skármeta Simunovic, while his mother was named Magdalena Vranicic, both of Croatian descent. According to an old family story, the Skármeta came to Chile for the simple pleasure of changing the environment.
The first steps in Skármeta's education took place at the San Luis de Antofagasta school. Already advanced in his youth, he went on to study at the National Institute of Santiago, where he attended high school.
Having completed his second stage of professional preparation, the future writer opted for a career in philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy and Education of the University of Chile. In that institution of higher education, Francisco Soler Grima received him as tutor and teacher, who was a direct student of Julián Marías and José Ortega y Gasset..
Due to the influence of his mentor, Skármeta decided to do his graduate work around Ortega y Gasset. In 1963 the publication Ortega y Gasset (language, gesture and silence), making Antonio worthy of his degree. Thanks to Soler, the future writer also studied the work of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, among other great philosophers..
By that time, writing had already done its thing in Skármeta's life, the story being one of his most passionate forms of expression. Among the figures that inspired Antonio's work at that time, Jack Kerouac and J. D. Salinger stand out. In 1967 it came to light The enthusiasm, thus receiving an excellent reception among readers.
Two years later he published Naked on the roof, a compilation of stories that earned him the Casa de las Américas prize. This book had fresh texts, being “El cyclista del San Cristóbal”, “Final del tango” and “Desnudo en el tejado” (the one that gave the book its name) some of the most successful.
The influence of American and Latin American literature on Skármeta's work was clear. And it is that the work of Julio Cortazar did not go unnoticed by the writer, nor that of Juan Carlos Onetti, as well as that of the aforementioned Jack Kerouac and J. D. Salinger.
Due to the aforementioned, it is not strange to see in Skármeta's stories a mixture between the styles of these writers.
To read Skármeta from the late sixties is to find sensuality with fantasy, but at the same time a lot of dynamism. It is this “salad” of styles that marks the beginning of a successful career for the Chilean, which would also lead him to lead the Latin American literary scene..
In 1973 Augusto Pinochet perpetrated a coup, an event that shook the history of Chile. This completely changed the life of Skármeta, who at that time was working as a literature teacher, theater director and screenwriter..
The writer decided to emigrate to Argentina to protect himself. While in that new land his work came to light Free shot, and it is there where Skármeta expresses what according to him were the circumstances that allowed the overthrow of Salvador Allende.
Having moved from his place of origin and under these conditions notably affected the writing of Skármeta, who was used to interacting with the spaces of his country and portraying them through his writings. Antonio had to leave behind the places that inspired the famous tales of Naked on the roof Y The enthusiasm.
As a result of that abrupt change of panorama, the writer had to resort to his memories. From there was born I dreamed that the snow was burning (1975), which became his first novel. In that work, Skármeta captured everything that happened during the Pinochet coup from the point of view of a soccer player.
The way in which the writer captured the places, the language of his characters and their customs allow the reader to move in space-time and witness everything that happened as a direct witness. All this linked with a very intelligent sense of humor. This novel is considered one of the most important works of Skármeta.
The writer did not last long in Argentina. He barely spent a year there and then traveled to Germany, specifically West Berlin. That city was his home for the next 15 years. To support himself financially, Skármeta wrote for film and radio, and also gave classes on how to write scripts for film purposes.
It is in Germany where his second novel came to light Nothing happened. This short work has autobiographical airs, as it tells the story of a young Chilean and all the situations he goes through in order to adapt to the place that received him after exile..
In Germany, Skármeta faced a huge limitation: the language. He went from being a recognized and award-winning author in his country, to being a total stranger on another continent. However, the writer knew how to avoid his luck and escape unscathed. That was how he was born Insurrection (1982). This book dealt with Nicaragua and its Sandinista revolution..
Insurrection It was not only Antonio Skármeta's third novel, but it also served as a film script.
Three years after Insurrection was born Burning patience (1985), a work that was presented in multiple spaces, serving as a novel, film and radio script and theatrical work. Skarmeta did this to make the most of the expressive possibilities of each text.
Lolita: Mathcball made its appearance in 1989 at the same time that the writer decided to end his exile. On his return to Chile he devoted himself to television and teaching. Skármeta was in charge of giving workshops where he promoted literature while directing television programs with the same tendency.
Among the most famous programs of the now television director, he highlighted The book show. This transmission had an excellent reception, both in Chile and in Latin America..
Skármeta's talent for adapting his works to various contexts in the arts bore the greatest possible fruit in 1994. At that time Michael Radford made a screenplay arrangement of The postman (and Pablo Neruda), based on the work Burning patience (1985).
The success of the film was such that it was awarded the Oscar. In addition, the film ended up becoming a banner of good cinema among the public. People loved the characters achieved by Skármeta.
Apart from the recognition achieved with the Oscar, Skármeta did not stay still for a moment in his intellectual production. In the nineties he was invited to many conferences, taught at Saint Louis University and also served as a jury in various competitions.
It was in 1999 when he decided to honor his Yugoslav roots with the work The poet's wedding. With that text the century closed and the new one opened with the text The girl with the trombone (2001). This last writing earned him the Médicis Prize in France, specifically in the award for the best novel in a foreign language.
In 2000, the writer expressed his empathy for the government of Ricardo Lagos and agreed to be Chile's ambassador to Germany. This experience made him want to return to letters quickly, because he felt imprisoned. His return occurred with the work the victory dance (2003), which earned him the Planeta award.
In 2015, he won the National Literature Prize of his country and was designated as the 20th place occupant of the Chlena Academy of the Language. The position was assumed in 2017 with his speech "Pedaling with San Juan de la Cruz. Presence in my work of the literary tradition of the Spanish language".
The delay in the occupation of his position was due to the fact that he suffered from stomach cancer in 2016, from which he came out very well. Due to that same ailment, he could not serve as a member of the jury for the 2016 National Prize for Literature, since he deserved to have won the contest the previous year..
The writer had his children Beltrán and Gabriel in his marriage to Cecilia Boisier, a renowned Chilean plastic artist. On the other hand, his children Javier and Fabián are the product of his love with Nora Preperski, with whom he later joined their separation..
Despite the years, the writer does not put aside his passion for letters, football and horse racing.
- Fulbright Scholarship (1964)
- Casa de las Américas Award 1968 for Naked on the roof.
- 1996 Bocaccio International Literature Prize for Nothing happened.
- Llibreter First Prize for the illustrated edition of his story The composition.
- Altazor 2000 Award for The poet's wedding.
- Foreign Medici Award 2001 for The poet's wedding.
- Goethe Medal 2002 (Germany).
- Grinzane Cavour Award 2001 for the best novel of the year in Italy.
- Unesco Prize 2003 for Children's and Young People's Literature for Tolerance by Writing.
- First Prize Planeta 2003 for The dance of Victory.
- Municipal Prize for Literature of Santiago de Chile 2004 for The victory dance.
- International Award Ennio Flaiano 2006 for "the cultural and artistic value of his work" and, in particular, for The dance of Victory.
- First Prize Planeta-Casa de América 2011 for Rainbow days.
- Andrés Sabella International Literary Merit Award 2011 (Zicosur Antofagasta International Book Fair).
- Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (France).
- Commander of Arts and Letters (Italy).
- Marko Marulic Order (Croatia).
- National Prize for Literature 2014 (Chile).
The literary style of Skármeta's work is highly traditional, with a simple language, full of good humor and direct. His texts highlight the multiple influences he had from American and Latin American authors of the stature of Jack Kerouac, J. D. Salinger, Julio Cortaza and Juan Carlos Onetti.
His texts reflect a deep social criticism of the events in which he has been involved, so he could be classified as an experiential writer. It never ceases to amaze the way in which he reinvents himself and takes a bit of each style of his favorite authors, and at the same time gives a super personal character to his work..
His work is also characterized by the continuous presence of dialogues, and very well described scenarios. This denotes the author's affinity for cinematographic art, radio and theater..
In this video you can see a brief interview with Skármeta:
- I dreamed that the snow was burning, 1975.
- Nothing happened, 1980.
- Insurrection, 1982.
- Burning patience, 1985.
- Matchball, 1989 (in later editions its name was changed to The speed of love, 1997).
- The poet's wedding, 1999.
- The girl with the trombone, 2001.
- The victory dance, 2003.
- A movie dad, 2010.
- Rainbow days, 2011.
This work has 8 stories:
- "Cinderella in San Francisco".
- "The young man with the story".
- "Trotting".
- "Among all things the sea is the first thing".
- "Blue days for an anchor".
- "Nuptials".
- "Public relations".
- "Look where the wolf is going".
This work has the following stories:
- "The San Cristóbal cyclist".
- "To the sands".
- "A lap in the air".
- "Final of the tango".
- "Bird".
- "Basketball".
- "Naked on the roof".
This work is divided into three sections and has the following stories:
- I: "Fish", "The last train" and "One by one".
- II: "First preparatory", "Enroque", "Ballad for a fat man" and "The cigarette".
- III: "Paris" and "Professionals".
This work has the following stories:
- "When you turn twenty-one years old".
- "Sparks".
- "The porter of the mountain range".
- "Borges".
- "Time zone".
- "Executive".
- "Ephemeral".
- "A Colombian Christmas".
- "Teresa Clavel's lover".
- "Broken heart".
- "Oktoberlied".
- The search, 1976.
- Nothing happened, 1977.
- The stain, 1978.
- The composition, 1979.
- Eighteen karats, 2010.
- The composition, 1998.
- The goalkeeper of the mountain range, 2012.
- The cyclist of San Cristóbal, short story anthology, 1973
- Boyfriends and lonely, short story anthology, 1975.
- Cinderella in San Francisco and other stories, short story anthology 1990.
- One by one: complete stories, short story anthology, 1996.
- Personal anthology, 2009.
- Neruda by Skármeta, 2004.
- "Fantasy plus fantasy can only give something more fantastic".
- "I lack time to celebrate your hair, one by one I must count and praise them".
- “I believe that many times younger people who enjoy democracy and freedom do not know what it cost to recover them. They are in a paradise where they can say what they want, without fear of being tortured or slaughtered or exiled ”.
- "Democracy not only has a future, but also a present. Let us not confuse their occasional weaknesses with the essence of this privileged mode of social relationship that is democracy. Democracy is such a great good that it must be deepened, made more inclusive and creative so that it does not wear out and incite populist or immaturely strident adventures ".
- “I wouldn't make such a fuss over a kiss! -Not because of the kiss, but the kiss is the spark that sets the fire ".
- “The trains that lead to paradise are always local and entangled in humid and sweltering seasons. Only those who travel to hell are express ".
- "What hurts me is not being able to see her," the postman continued absorbed. Her cherry lips and her slow, mourning eyes, as if they were done the same night ".
- “I know this is the first letter you receive in your life, Mario, and at least it had to come in an envelope; if not, it is not worth it ".
- "The word is erotic when it is communicated at emotional levels that sometimes ideas or concepts do not have".
- "I am very interested in inclusion, because part of the writer's job is to bring people to creation, to offer it so that whoever receives it creates and recreates it".
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