Pagine1889–1957 · Vicuña, Chile · also known as Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, Mistral
Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga) was a rural schoolteacher from Chile’s Elqui Valley who became the first Latin American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945. Her poetry — Desolation (1922), Tenderness and Felling — speaks of love, loss, motherhood and children; she also helped reform education in Mexico and served as a diplomat. She appears on Chile’s 5,000-peso note.
Begin with Desolation.
Part of our Latin American Classics reading list — print it, email it to yourself or share it.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · Machado de Assis · Rubén Darío · Horacio Quiroga · Jorge Luis Borges · Pablo Neruda · Juan Rulfo · Julio Cortázar · Gabriel García Márquez · Mario Vargas Llosa · Isabel Allende
Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga) was a rural schoolteacher from Chile’s Elqui Valley who became the first Latin American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945. Her poetry — Desolation (1922), Tenderness and Felling — speaks of love, loss, motherhood and children; she also helped reform education in Mexico and served as a diplomat.
Desolation is usually considered Gabriela Mistral’s best-known work, followed by Tenderness.
Most readers start with Desolation.
Both refer to the same writer. Other spellings and names include Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, Mistral.
Many of Gabriela Mistral’s works are in the public domain; we link to free editions below.