The renowned Chilean writer Antonio Skármeta He died at the age of 83. The news was announced by the University of Chile, an institution to which he was linked throughout his life, and confirmed by sources close to his family. The news was received with deep regret in the cultural sphere, given the impact that Skármeta had on the promotion and dissemination of Chilean literature.
Skármeta, who obtained the National Literature Award In 2014, he will be remembered for his vast literary work and for his role in Chile’s transition to democracy. In 1990, he founded the “Heinrich Böll” literary workshop and later was the creator and host of the television program “The Book Show.” This space, which combined literary analysis with interviews with writers, became a cultural reference and was awarded nationally, and was broadcast in other countries in Latin America and Europe.
Among the most important works of writer The stories “El Enthusiasm” (1967) and “Tiro Libre” (1973) stand out, but his most famous work is the novel “Ardiente Patience”, written during his exile in Germany after the Coup d’état of 1973. This work, which tells the fictional relationship between a young postman and the poet Pablo Neruda, it has been adapted to film on several occasions, the best known being the 1994 film “Neruda’s Postman”, directed by Michael Radford.
The impact of “Neruda’s Postman” on international cinema consolidated Skármeta as a writer with global projection. The work was translated into multiple languages and has had three film adaptations, the most recent being in 2022, where Chilean actors Vivianne Dietz and Andrew Bargsted gave life to the main characters in a version produced by Netflix.
After hearing the news of his death, the Ministry of Culture expressed its condolences through a statement on social networks, highlighting the contribution of Skármeta to the enrichment of Chilean culture. “His legacy will always live on in each of his creations,” they wrote, echoing the influence that the author had not only in Chile, but throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
