Ecuadorian
Literature
Four centuries of Ecuador's poets, novelists, and essayists — their lives, their histories, and their writing — gathered at the middle of the world.
A literature that deepens with time
From colonial Quito to the writers working today — the archive's weight gathers in the modern era.
Many ways to read a country
From the sierra to the coast
Read across the equator
Most entries are biography and history; now and then a work is also translated into English. Here is one, set beside its original.
A María
¿Te retiras al campo, amiga mía!
¡Qué obsequio puedo hacerte en tu partida…?
Una triste y sensible despedida
Te dedica mi amor, dulce María!
Partes llevando mi alma allá en tu seno,
Partes dejando pena al corazón,
Partes dejándome en el caos que peno,
Partes llevando viva mi pasión!
To María
Are you leaving for the countryside, my dear friend!
What gift can I offer you upon your departure…?
Only a sad and tender farewell
Is all my love can give you, sweet María!
You go, bearing my soul within your breast,
You go, leaving sorrow in my heart,
You go, abandoning me to the chaos I endure,
You go, bearing my passion still alive!
Pastora Alomía de Guerrero (1835–1919) was one of Ecuador's earliest recognized women poets. This farewell first appeared in Parnaso ecuatoriano, 1879.
Recently added to the archive
An independent archive of Ecuador's literary heritage — the lives, histories, and writing of 851 authors, gathered so that a country's literary voice can be read across the equator and around the world.
Compiled & translated by Richard Gabela · 0°0′0″, Ecuador