Efraín Barquero is a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an poet. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature

Chilean National Prize for Literature

Chile's National Prize for Literature was created by Law No. 7,368 during the presidency of Juan Antonio Ríos on 8 November 1942. It consists of a lump-sum monetary prize and a life-time monthly stipend . It was originally awarded every year until the amendments introduced by Law No...

 in 2008.

Biography

Barquero studied at the University of Chile in Santiago, with people such as pJorge Teillier, Pablo Guiñez and Rolando Cardenas. Later he worked in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 during the government of Salvador Allende

Salvador Allende

Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....

. Later he settled in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 from 1975 in exile after the 1973 coup. He traveled and lived in various countries of the Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 in countries such as China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 until 1990.

Barquero's poetry is generally about simple things and the wonders of the universe, with social meaning and is often read by children. In France he wrote A deshora between 1979 and 1985, which was later published in Chile in 1992. During this period he also wrote Mujeres de oscuro and El viejo y el niño. Barquero attempted to return to Chile but ongoing difficulties meant that he returned to France shortly after trying to settle in Chile. However, before his departure he published La mesa de la tierra which won awards in 1999.

On 25 August 2008 Barquero was awarded the Chilean National Prize for Literature

Chilean National Prize for Literature

Chile's National Prize for Literature was created by Law No. 7,368 during the presidency of Juan Antonio Ríos on 8 November 1942. It consists of a lump-sum monetary prize and a life-time monthly stipend . It was originally awarded every year until the amendments introduced by Law No...

.

Works

• La piedra del pueblo (1954)
• La compañera (1956)
• Enjambre (1959)
• El pan del hombre (1960)
• El regreso (1961)
• Maula (1962)
• Poemas infantiles (1965)
• El viento de los reinos (1967)
• La compañera, poemas de amor (1969)
• Epifanías (1970)
• Arte de vida (1970)
• La compañera y otros poemas (1971)
• El poema negro de Chile (1976)
• Mujeres de oscuro (1992)
• A deshora (1992)
• El viejo y el niño (1993)