Home > Juan Carlos Onetti

A high school dropout, Onetti's first novel El pozo, published in 1939, met with immediate critical acclaim. He went on to become one of Latin America's most distinguished writers, earning Uruguay's National Prize in literature in 1962. However, only a few years later he was imprisoned by the military dictatorship for his writings and driven from his native country. Onetti fled to Spain where he remained until his passing in 1994. He is interred in the Cementerio de la Almudena in Madrid.

Writing awards:

• Uruguay National Literature Prize (1962)
• William Faulkner Foundation Ibero-American Award (1963)
• Casa de las Américas Prize (1965)
• Italian-Latin American Institute Prize (1972)
• Premio Cervantes (1980)

Selected works:

• El pozo (1939) - The Pit
• Tierra de nadie (1941) - No Man's Land
• Para esta noche (1943) - Tonight
• La vida breve (1950) - A Brief Life
• Un sueño realizado y otros cuentos (1951
• Para una tumba sin nombre (1959) - A Grave with No Name
• La cara de la desgracia (1960
• El astillero (1961) - The Shipyard
• Juntacadáveres (1964) - Body Snatcher
• Tres novelas (1967)
• Cuentos completos (1967)
• Los rostros del amor (1968)
• Novelas y cuentos cortos completos (1968)
• Obras completas (1970)
• La muerte y la niña (1973)
• Cuentos completos (1974)
• Tiempo de abrazar (1974)
• Réquiem por Faulkner (1975)
• Tan triste como ella y otros cuentos (1976)
• Dejemos hablar al viento (1979) - Let the Wind Speak
• Cuentos secretos (1986)
• Presencia y otros cuentos (1986)
• Cuando entonces (1987)
• Goodbyes and Other Stories (1990)
• Cuando ya no importe (1993) - Past Caring