Julio Cortázar

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seudonym Julio Denis, (born August 26, 1914, Brussels, Belgium—died February 12, 1984, Paris, France), Argentine novelist and short-story writer who combined existential questioning with experimental writing techniques in his works.

Cortázar was the son of Argentine parents and was educated in Argentina, where he taught secondary school and worked as a translator. Bestiario (1951; “Bestiary”), his first short-story collection, was published the year he moved to Paris, an act motivated by dissatisfaction with the government of Juan Perón and what he saw as the general stagnation of the Argentine middle class. He remained in Paris, where he received French citizenship in 1981, though he also kept his Argentine citizenship and remained engaged with political causes in Argentina and Nicaragua. He also traveled widely.