Contents
Miguel Ángel Asturias
Writing The President and Men of Maize, bringing dictatorship and Maya traditions into major fiction.
Legends of Guatemala · The President
- Born
- 19 October 1899
- Birthplace
- Guatemala City, Guatemala
- Died
- 9 June 1974
More people
Miguel Ángel Asturias
Guatemalan writer and diplomat whose work joined political criticism with myth and experimental language. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967.
Early life
Guatemalan upbringing
His family’s opposition to dictatorship shaped his childhood and later political outlook.
Law and ethnology
Studied law in Guatemala and later studied Maya culture in Paris.
Career
- 1920s–1930s
Paris and early books
Engaged with ethnology and literary experimentation before returning to Guatemala.
- 1940s–1950s
Novels and diplomacy
Published major novels while serving in diplomatic posts.
- 1954–1967
Exile and recognition
Spent years abroad after Guatemala’s coup and later became ambassador to France, receiving the Nobel Prize.
Selected work
Legends of Guatemala
Stories drawing on the country’s layered cultural traditions.
The President
A novel about fear and power under dictatorship.
Men of Maize
Fiction shaped by Maya traditions and conflict over land and community.
Beyond work
A diplomatic career
Represented Guatemala abroad in several posts, including France.
Political displacement
Changes of government repeatedly affected where he could live and work.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Institutional biography and career ↗Photo: Dominique Roger. CC BY-SA 3.0 igo · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
