Arts for the 21st Century

Keith Ellis

Keith Ellis

Keith Ellis is a renowned scholar, translator and critic of Latin American literature. Professor Emeritus of Latin American Literature (University of Toronto), he specializes in poetry and the short story and is a leading authority on the poetry of the Cuban poet, Nicolás Guillén. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he has received honours from the governments of Cuba, Jamaica and Venezuela.

Two Chileans Who Made Literature Creative in Canada

I write the following brief lines having been witness to a process by which literary theory achieves growth, evolution and function. The initial gesture that attracted my attention was an invitation from a group of Latin Americans resident in Toronto and linked to the Casa Salvador Allende to help them to organize an international short story contest in honour of their late Chilean compatriot, Professor Juan Carlos García Vera. Noting the insistence with which they made the request and having a high regard for Juan Carlos who had passed away in the previous year, I added this task to the many in which I was involved.