Gabriela Mistral

Latin America's first Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.

Life

Rural schoolteacher

Mistral, born Lucila Godoy, came from the countryside of northern Chile and worked for many years as a rural schoolteacher. In 1914 she won the top prize in a poetry competition with her Sonnets of Death.

Poet

Her poetry is full of deep tenderness for children, motherhood and those who suffer. She was invited to Mexico to take part in educational reform and later served for many years as a Chilean consul abroad.

Nobel Prize

In 1945 she won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Latin American writer to receive it; she died in the United States in 1957.

Legacy

Mistral was the first Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and she once encouraged the young Neruda.

Major works & achievements

• Desolation
• Tenderness

Did you know? Her portrait appears on Chile's 5,000-peso banknote.

Key dates

• 1914Wins a prize for Sonnets of Death
• 1922Invited to Mexico to help with educational reform
• 1945Won the Nobel Prize in Literature
• 1957Died