Arturo Fontaine Talavera

Arturo Fontaine Talavera (Santiago, 1952) is a novelist, poet and essayist, considered as one of the most representative writers of the Chilean literary movement "New Narrative", which emerged in the 1990s.

Fontaine studied philosophy and taught at the University of Chile before pursuing graduate studies and teaching at Columbia University. After earning an MA and an MPhil, Fontaine returned to Chile and joined the independent liberal think tank Centre for Public Studies as a translator, heading up the quarterly magazine ''Estudios Públicos.'' In 1983, he was named its Director. He also taught philosophy at the University of Chile. Under his leadership, the CEP became a meeting place for intellectuals and an intellectual centre of great academic prestige and influence, while the magazine became an outlet for different points of view. In 2013, after 31 years at CEP, Fontaine was forced to resign with the board saying it needed to take a new direction. The media interpreted Fontaine firing as a result of polarisation of Chilean society together with his critical analysis of the administration of President Piñera.

As a writer, Fontaine is known for his poetry and fiction. He published his first book of poetry, ''Nueva York'', in 1976. This was followed by ''Poemas hablados'' (1989), ''Tu nombre en vano'' (1995)'','' and ''Mis ojos x tus ojos'' (2007). His poems have also appeared in numerous anthologies. Fontaine's first novel was the highly acclaimed ''Oír Su Voz'' (1992)'','' which was followed by ''Cuando eramos inmortales'' (1998) and the award-winning, ''La vida doble'' in 2010. Provided by Wikipedia