Mario Meléndez

Mario Meléndez (Linares, 1971) studied Journalism at La República University of Santiago, Chile. Figured among his books are: “Autocultura y juicio” (with prologue from the National Prize of Literature, Roque Esteban Scarpa) “Apuntes para una leyenda” and “Vuelo subterráneo”. In 1993 he received the Municipal Prize of Literature in the Bicentennial of Linares. His poems have appeared in different magazines of Latino-American literature and in national and foreign anthologies. Mr. Meléndez has been invited to numerous literary encounters among which stand out the First and Second Encounter of Latino-American Writers, organized by the Society of Writers of Chile (SECh), Santiago, 2001 and 2002, and the First International Encounter of Amnesty and Solidarity of the People, Rome, Italy, 2003, where he was named Honorary Member of the Academy of Arts and Letters of Rome. Moreover, he directed a literary workshop in the Prison of Talca which was the source of the book “Los Rostros del Olvido” (two volumes) where the poetic work of the prisoners is compiled. Currently, Mr. Meléndez is working on the project “Fiestas del Libro Itinerante”, and presides over the Society of Writers of Chile, Maule Region.