1. Bonella, Augusto Monterroso Guatemala (3)

2. Bonilla, Augusto Monterroso (1921 – 2003)

3. Bonilla, Augusto Monterroso Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (1921 – 2003). He was born in Guatemala City & remained there until young adulthood. There he published his first short stories & then his writing took a political turn - writing against the dictator Jorge Ubico (work was published in his newspaper, El Espectador); other like-minded writers were invited to write for it, too. Because of his vocal political stance, he was exiled to Mexico City & made his home there until his death. He received many writing awards & is considered one of the finest writers from Guatemala because of his terse, condensed writing approach. The Gale database commented: “His…ethical rigor & inflexibility become even more severe as his judgment of humanity becomes more elastic & forgiving…

4. In few writers can one find such profound compassion for human weaknesses & flaws juxtaposed with such biting satire, parody, & humor.” Bonilla preferred the short story form, & this is what he is best known for. However, his novel The Rest Is Silence used various literary forms (newspaper accounts, diaries, etc…) to present a full picture of the main character. (This is similar to American author John Dos Passos’s U.S.A. trilogy.) According to one source, he wrote one of the world’s shortest stories called “The Dinosaur.” Here it is: “When it woke up, the dinosaur was still there.”

5. Works Cited 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Monterroso (Info)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Monterroso 2. "Augusto Monterroso." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. (Info) 3. http://firmandogoldber.blogspot.com/2009/10 /augusto-monterroso.html (Photo) http://firmandogoldber.blogspot.com/2009/10 /augusto-monterroso.html