Zurita, Raul

Raúl Armando Zurita Canessa (born January 10, 1950) is a Chilean poet known for his innovative and politically engaged works. He has received the Chilean National Prize for Literature (2000), the Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award (2016), and the Queen Sofía Ibero-American Poetry Prize (2020). His major works include Purgatorio (1979), Anteparaíso (1982), and La vida nueva (2018), which often combine experimental forms with public and environmental interventions. Zurita survived imprisonment and torture during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, experiences that deeply influenced his poetry. He has also worked as a cultural attaché, translator, and university professor, and his writings have been translated into multiple languages.