Lihn was without a doubt the best poet of his generation, the so-called Generación del ‘50, and one of the three or four best poets born between 1925 and 1935. Or maybe one of the two best. Or maybe he was the best.

— Roberto Bolaño
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Portrait of Enrique Lihn
Enrique Lihn

Enrique Lihn

Enrique Lihn Carrasco was a Chilean poet, playwright, and novelist. Born in 1929 in Santiago, Chile, Lihn aspired to be a painter, but after a failed attempt during university, he abandoned that dream to pursue writing. His work revolved around his contempt for the contemporary dictatorship as Chile was governed by a military junta. Works layered with social, political, and religious commentary are common throughout Lihn’s canon. In his later years, he taught literature at the University of Chile. His final book, Diario de Muerte was written in the six weeks preceding his death from cancer in Santiago in 1988.

cover of the book Celeste, Daughter of the Earth and Other Early Poems

Celeste, Daughter of the Earth and Other Early Poems

Poetry by Enrique Lihn

Translated from Spanish by Jonathan Cohen and David Unger

With a contribution by Roberto Brodsky

Enrique Lihn is among the most important Chilean poets, alongside Nicanor Parra, since the generation of Gabriela Mistral, Vicente Huidobro, and Pablo Neruda. Lihn’s first two poetry books represented here—Nada se escurre (Nothing Slips Away), 1949, and Poemas de este tiempo y de otro, (Poems of This Time and Another), 1955—introduce his dark, lyric genius and existential intensity. These works sounded an early alarm, announcing that a new voice had been born within the rich and unrestrained tradition of Chilean poetry. This current volume contains a marvelous selection of Lihn’s pioneering early work, translated exquisitely by Jonathan Cohen and David Unger, and introduced by the Chilean journalist and Lihn scholar Roberto Brodsky.

cover of the book The Dark Room And Other Poems

The Dark Room And Other Poems

by Enrique Lihn

Translated from Spanish by Jonathan Cohen, David Unger and John Felstiner

The Dark Room presents in a compact bilingual selection the extraordinary poetry of Enrique Lihn (1929-1988), winner of the prestigious Casa de las Americas Prize and one of Chile’s most remarkable writers. Gathered here is Lihn’s most representative work from 1963 to 1977, drawn from his major books.

Lihn was without a doubt the best poet of his generation, the so-called Generación del ‘50, and one of the three or four best poets born between 1925 and 1935. Or maybe one of the two best. Or maybe he was the best.

— Roberto Bolaño
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