Julio Cortázar
(1914–1984)

As students, we learn the importance of reading directions before beginning school work, operating machinery, and using technology, but have you ever read directions before combing your hair or coming down your staircase? Probably not, but experimental writer Julio Cortázar offers such wacky directions in Cronopias and Famas, in a section titled "The Instruction Manual." It is this type of playful fiction, which invites the reader to participate, that has made Cortázar famous.

His unique style results partially from belonging to both European and Latin American societies. Cortázar was born in Brussels, Belgium, and moved to Argentina when he was a young boy. His sense of belonging to both is an important theme in his work. Cortázar also worked as a translator for the United Nations during his thirties while residing in Paris. He used this skill when translating works of important authors, such as Edgar Allan Poe, into Spanish.

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