In the News: Mario Vargas Llosa to Receive Living Legend Award at the Library of Congress

By Sarah Katz

Photo: U. Montan

Peruvian-born and Nobel Prize-winning novelist, journalist, and political commentator Mario Vargas Llosa will receive the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 11. Previous winners have included Gwendolyn Brooks, Beverly Clearly, Annie Leibovitz, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, Maurice Sendak, and Herman Wouk.

"Mario Vargas Llosa has brought to life the history and character of the Latin American people in memorable literature that has been translated into many languages around the world," said Acting Librarian of Congress David S. Mao in a statement. "The Library of Congress is proud to honor him and his work."

 The evening award ceremony will include tributes from Mao and Peruvian Ambassador Luis Miguel Castilla. Vargas Llosa will be in conversation with Marie Arana, Distinguished Chair at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress.

Living Legend Award Ceremony

Monday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress

10 First St. SE, Washington, D.C.

Free and open to the public; pre-registration required

RSVP to specialevents@loc.gov or (202) 707-1616

Known for his politically charged novels such as The Time of the Hero (Rapp & Caroll, 1967) and The Feast of the Goat (Picador, 2001), Vargas Llosa was born in Arequipa, Peru on March 28, 1936. He is one of forefathers of the Latin American Boom in literature in the 1960s and, for decades, has been a highly influential figure and distinctive voice for the region. In addition to the Nobel Prize, he has been honored with the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the PEN/Nabokov Award, and many others. Learn more about Vargas Llosa in this interview by The Paris Review.

Related news: Mario Vargas Llosa calls Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump “dangerous,” according to an article in the Guardian.

Sarah Katz earned an M.F.A. in poetry at American University and a B.A. in English at the University of Maryland. In addition to interning at The Writer’s Center, she is Publications Assistant at AWP. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in District Lit, Heavy Feather Review, jmww, MiPOesias, the Ploughshares blog, RHINO, Temenos, and others.