Roque Esteban Scarpa

Roque Esteban Scarpa Straboni (March 26, 1914 in Punta Arenas - January 11, 1995 in Santiago) was a Chilean writer, literary critic and scholar. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1980. He was of Croatian[1] and Italian descent.

Plate of Roque Scarpa

Scarpa served as professor of literature at the University of Chile and was a prominent member of the Chilean Academy of Language. In 1943 he founded the Teatro de Ensayo of the Catholic University of Chile. He was director of the National Library of Chile (1967–1971 and 1973–1977).

He also served as a literary critic in the newspapers El Mercurio and La Aurora.