Sergio Ramírez: literature, ethics and resistance

Sergio Ramírez, the 2017 Cervantes Literature Prize winner, talks about his career and the impact of today’s reality in his literature.

Ramírez has developed a writing that is delicate yet advocates for liberty and positions itself against arbitrariness, which can be felt in all of his novels, essays and articles. His work constantly questions reality, and observes the singularity of his time without ever forgetting the cornerstones of our literature.

About Sergio Ramírez

Sergio Ramírez Mercado (born August 5, 1942 in Masatepe, Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan writer and intellectual who served in the leftist Government Junta of National Reconstruction and as Vice President of the country 1985-1990 under the presidency of Daniel Ortega.

Born in Masatepe in 1942, he published his first book, Cuentos, in 1963. He received his law degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua of León in 1964, where he obtained the Gold Medal for being the best student.

In 1977 Ramírez became head of the “Group of Twelve,” a group of prominent intellectuals, priests, business people, and members of civil society who publicly stated their support for the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) in its struggle to topple the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. With the triumph of the Revolution in 1979, he became part of the Junta of the Government of National Reconstruction, where he presided over the National Council of Education. He was elected vice-president of Nicaragua in 1984 and was sworn in 1985.

The talk will take place in Spanish with simultaneous English translation.