Julio Valle Castillo was born in Masaya

Masaya

Masaya, culturally known as the City of Flowers, is the capital city of Masaya department. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast from Managua. The town of Masaya is situated just East of Masaya Volcano , an active volcano from which the city takes its name...

, Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

. He is a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, novelist, painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, essayist, and a critic

Critic

A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...

 of literature and art

Art critic

An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...

.

Early life and career

Valle-Castillo studied Hispanic Language and Literature at the National Autonomous University

National Autonomous University of Mexico

The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...

 in 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...

. Valle-Castillo began publishing his poems in Pablo Antonio Cuadra

Pablo Antonio Cuadra

Pablo Antonio Cuadra was a Nicaraguan essayist, art and literary critic, playwright, graphic artist and one of the most famous poets of Nicaragua.-Early life and career:...

's newspaper supplement, "La Prensa Literaria", in the 1970s. Valle-Castillo later published his first book in 1977, "Las Armas Iniciales". Valle-Castillo, along with Mayra Jiménez, served as editor of "Poesía Libre", a monthly publication published during the Sandinista government.

As of 2006, Julio Valle-Castillo served as the director of the Instituto Nicaragüense de Cultura (INC) (Nicaraguan Institute of Culture).

Literary works

Published

• Las armas iniciales (1977)
• Las primeras notas del laúd (1977)
• Formas migratorias (1979)
• Materia jubilosa (1986)
• Ronda tribal para el nacimiento de Sandino (1981)
• Con los pasos cantados (1998)

Poetry

• Poetas modernistas de Nicaragua (1978)
• Rimbaud entre nosotros (1993)
• Poesía francesa / Traducciones nicaragüenses (1993);
• Hija del día / Artes poéticas nicaragüenses (1994);
• Nicaragua: cuentos escogidos (1998)
• Cuentos nicaragüenses (2002)

Essays

• El inventario del paraíso (1986)
• La catedral de León de Nicaragua (2000)
• Las humanidades de la poesía nicaragüense (2001)

Novel

• Réquiem en Castilla del Oro (1966)

External links

• Julio Valle Castillo - Dariana; Diccionario de escritores nicaragüenses