Laura Antillano
was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1950. She studied literature at the
Universidad del Zulia, where she later became a lecturer in children's
literature and director of the university's puppet theatre. In the
early seventies she spent time in Italy and Chile, then in the USA.
Since her début, »La bella época« (1969; t: The
Belle Epoque), she has published a further seven volumes of short
stories. In addition to that, Antillano has written four novels,
several books for children and young adults, two poetry anthologies and
screenplays for film and television. In her narrative work Antillano
deals with the connections and the rifts between individual and
collective memories and identities, especially those of women.
Eleven years after »La muerte del monstruo
come-piedras« (1971; t: The death of the stone-eating monster), her
second novel »Perfume de gardenia« (1982; t: Gardenia perfume)
followed, Antillano’s first historical novel. It tells of a young
writer who looks into her mother and grandmother's histories,
reconstructing a female genealogy of Venezuela. The novel »Solitaria
Solidaria« (1990; t: The solidary solitary) again presents a female
character in search of historical traces: in some archives, a
university lecturer finds the notes of a rebellious woman who lived and
wrote in the late nineteenth century. While reading these journals, the
protagonist stumbles on the unofficial and forgotten history of her
country and at the same time reflects on her own life. A female
tradition is once more created – and the two voices eventually fuse
into one. Her most recent novel, »Las aguas tenían reflejos de plata«
(2002; t: The waters sparkled silver) also focuses on the country's
history: it tells the story of a Venezuelan family in in the late
eighteen hundreds.
The author has been awarded many prizes in her
home country, including in 1977 a prize by the newspaper »El Nacional«
for her story »La luna no es pan de horno« (t: The moon isn't oven
bread). She was in fact the first female recipient of the prize. In
1987, Antillano won the prize for best scriptwriter in the children’s
and young people’s film category in the Mérida Film Festival for »Con
cierto corazón«. Her poetry anthology »Migajas« (2004; t: Bread crumbs)
was praised at the 2004 biannual José Rafael Pocaterra Literature
Festival.
Laura Antillano currently has a regular column in
the newspaper »Notitarde«, works for a radio programme, and lectures in
Venezuelan literature at the University of Carabobo. She regularly
holds writing courses and, with the Centro Nacional del Libro and the
Casa Nacional de las Letras Andrés Bello, prepares the yearly meeting
of literature for children and young people. Antillano lives in
Valencia, Venezuela
© international literature festival berlin
Laura Antillano online: www.laurantillano.com.ve
| 
Jose-Antonio-.jpg)