IVAN ÉGÜEZ: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Ivan Égüez (1944) is an Ecuadorian writer, internationally famous for his essays, novels and poetry. He has also contributed to the dissemination of literature in Ecuador, using the Eugenio Espejo Corporation as a platform, a family cultural project with which he has been closely related.

He achieved recognition as a novelist with the publication of La Linares in 1975, a work that earned him the first recipient of the Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Prize for Literature, awarded by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. However, Égüez was already known at that time for his work as a poet, having previously published several texts.

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Iván Égüez has served as director of the Eugenio Espejo National Campaign for the Book and Reading. He was also director of Culture of the Central University of Ecuador and a jury in the Casa de las Américas Award in 1979. Currently, the Quito author serves as director of the Casa Égüez Cultural Center.

Biography

Early years

He was born on December 27, 1944 in Quito, Ecuador. His parents were Gustavo Égüez and Clema Rivera. Her grandfather, Alejandro Égüez, was a merchant who imported articles for men to the city of Quito.

The author assured in an interview that his birthplace was where the building known as the Najas Palace is currently located, which houses the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry of Ecuador, which at that time was a house that belonged to his family.

Égüez attended elementary school at the Espejo School, a basic education institution in the area, but which according to the Quito writer was very complete, since it had a library, movie theater, laboratories, recreational and sports spaces that were comfortable enough for students.

He studied Journalism at the Central University of Ecuador. In that same house of higher studies, he was later appointed as administrator of the Department of Culture and Dissemination.

Égüez is the brother of the Ecuadorian plastic artist Pavel Égüez.

Literary beginnings

Ivan Égüez was interested in literature from a very young age, in fact, while studying Journalism, he began to be part of a group of young writers and students known as Los Tzántzicos. Later he was part of the Editorial Board of a magazine titled La Scarf del Sol.

Égüéz, in the same way, was a contributor to publications such as Argumentos and Anales. By the mid-1970s he already had several published works, including Caliber Catapulta and Loquera es lo-que-era.

However, his true recognition came with the appearance of his novel named La Linares, which earned him the 1976 Aurelio Espinosa Pólit National Prize.

Some of the circumstances that led this novel to be so recognized was that the award, which was awarded by the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, had been won for a story that had a prostitute as its central character.

The work of Ivan Égüez also obtained its own fame, since it stood out for its novel narrative and for raising a topic that, despite being part of everyday realities, was not commonly addressed in national literature.

Finally, La Linares has been published in approximately 18 editions and its author Ivan Égüez established himself internationally.

Present

Since the 1970s, when he published his first novel, La Linares, Ivan Égüez has published more than six novels. He also did short story works and continued to write poetry.

This Ecuadorian author was a jury for the Casa de las Américas Award in 1979. Likewise, he has worked as director of the Eugenio Espejo National Campaign for Books and Reading since 2002.

His work has been included in various anthologies. Ivan Égüez has also served as editor of the literary magazine called Rocinante, which is the official publication of the aforementioned campaign.

Eugenio Espejo Corporation

The Eugenio Espejo Corporation has been a family project to which the Égüez have dedicated a joint effort. From this initiative, the Eugenio Espejo National Campaign for Books and Reading emerged on November 30, 1998. It was conceived and is directed by Égüez.

In addition to publications such as Rocinante and Babieca , or the Rocinante Bookstore, there is another very interesting project undertaken by the Ecuadorian author, this one is called Casa Égüez Centro Cultural.

In the spaces of this center different activities are carried out, among which are events, workshops and especially the promotion of reading in society. Casa Égüez is based in the América neighborhood of the city of Quito, which is known for its intense cultural activity.

From there initiatives have been promoted such as the short novel prize named after the title of the first novel published by Ivan Égüez: La Linares. The cultural center is run by the Égüez family.

Literary style

Regarding the literary style of Ivan Égüez, it has been said that the writer was able to create a mixture between anecdotal and popular language to produce in the reader an approach towards reality, despite using a mixture between fiction and history that was not anchored to localisms.

His work is also considered rich in terms of narrative, since it has distorted times. In addition, her best known novel, La Linares, has a baroque structure.

Ivan Égüez himself considers that a change occurred in the authors of his generation in which they left behind the use of narration solely as an excuse to talk about social or political problems, and were able to dedicate themselves to experimenting with the literary tools they had.

Publications

Novels

- La Linares (1975).

- Pájara la memoria (1985).

- The power of the great lord (1985).

- Sonata for the deaf (1999).

- Lyrics for sauce with sharp ending (2005).

- Imago (2010).

- Juggling in his ink (2013).

Stories

- The triple jump (1981).

- Anima pávor (1990).

- Light stories (1995).

- Innocent Tales (1996).

- Fantastic tales (1997).

- Jitan tales (1997).

- Brief Consciousness (2009).

Poetry

- Caliber catapult (1969).

- The public arena and Loquera is what-it-was (1972).

- Buscavida rifamuerte (1975).

- Poemar (1981).

- The forgetful (1992).

- Free love (1999).

References

1. Parrini, L. (2017). Casa Éguëz opens its doors - LAPALABRABIERTA. LAPALABRABIERTA. Available at: lapalabrabierta.com.
2. Hershberg, D. (1987). Perspectives on contemporary literature. Louisville, pp. 50-57.
3. León, O. (1981). Contemporary Iberian and Latin American Literatures.: Ophrys, p.356.
4. Eugenio Espejo Reading Campaign. (2019). What is the campaign? - Eugenio Espejo Reading Campaign. Available at: xn-- readingcamp-2qb.com.
5. Telegrafo, E. (2016). Iván Egüez and Jorge Dávila marked a break in the letters of the 20th century. The Telegraph. Available at: web.archive.org.
6. Flores, A. (1983). Hispano-American Narrative, Volume 5. Mexico: Siglo XXI Ed., P.169.
7. Égüez House. (2019). Égüez House Cultural Center - Quito, Ecuador. Available at: casaeguez.com.
8. Ecuadorian Literature.com. (2019). IVÁN EGÜEZ (Quito, 1944). Available at: Ecuadorian literature.com.