Sergio Pitol

Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (1933–2018) was one of Mexico’s most influential and well-respected writers. He studied law and philosophy in Mexico City and spent many years as a cultural attaché in Mexican embassies and consulates across the globe, including Poland, Hungary, Italy, and China, before completing his diplomatic career as Mexico’s ambassador to the former Czechoslovakia. In recognition of the importance of his entire canon of work, Pitol was awarded the two most important prizes in the Spanish language world: the Juan Rulfo Prize in 1999 (now known as the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages) and the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious Spanish-language literary prize, often called the “Spanish language Nobel,” in 2005. His Trilogy of Memory and Mephisto’s Waltz are available from Deep Vellum in translation by George Henson.