Julio Ramón Ribeyro, a major figure in Peruvian letters, has not yet been adequately recognized outside his native country. Ribeyro has never thought of himself as a professional writer, yet his literary career, spanning more than four decades, has been as prolific as that of any twentieth-century Peruvian with the exception of Mario Vargas Llosa. Ribeyro has published some twenty books of short novels, literary essays, and plays. He is a pioneer in the literary exploration of Peruvian urban life and the creator of a personal blend of essays, autobiography, and fiction called the Prosas apátridas (Prose of a Man without a Country, 1975), short texts of intimate thoughts and literary sketches.

Julio Ramón Ribeyro was born in Lima on 31 August 1929 into a middle-class family with illustrious ancestors. He spent his youth in the Peruvian capital and some of his vacations in his...