Roque Dalton

Roque Dalton: (1935–1975), El Salvador’s best–known poet whose complete works have now been published in his home country. During his lifetime, he published 18 books of poetry and prose, including Taberna y otros lugares (Tavern and other places) in 1969, which won the Casa de Las Americas Poetry Prize. Twice he escaped death in El Salvador, once when he was scheduled for execution but the government of Colonel Jose Maria Lemus was overthrown and all prisoners were freed, again when he was in prison awaiting execution and an earthquake destroyed one wall of the jail and he escaped. The third time, however, he was betrayed, tortured, and murdered by his own revolutionary cohorts.