BENEDETTI, MARIO

born , Sept. 14, 1920, Paso de Los Toros, Tacuaremb, Uru. Latin-American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist. Most of Benedetti's early life was spent in Montevideo, where he held a number of bureaucratic positions that allowed him time to write. His first book of short stories, Esta maana (1949; "This Morning"), deals with urban middle-class problems. His first novel, Quin de nosotros (1953; "Who of Us"), presents the frustration of three characters whose lives are intertwined. On three different occasions from 1954 to 1960 he directed one of Uruguay's most prestigious weekly journals, Marcha. Benedetti's Poemas de la oficina (1956; "Office Poems"), written simply and colloquially, was an instant success. In 1957 he visited Europe for the first time as a correspondent for Marcha and El diario. With the publication of Montevideanos (1959), tragicomical tales of everyday city life, he won recognition as one of Uruguay's most perceptive writers. His second novel, La tregua (1960; The Truce), is written as the diary of a middle-aged man who becomes romantically involved with a much younger woman. El pas de la cola de paja (1960; "The Country with the Tail of Straw") is a collection of essays on the decline of Uruguay. Gracias por el fuego (1965; "Thanks for the Fire") is a novel with an openly revolutionary message. From 1967 to 1971 Benedetti lived in Cuba, where he was a member of Cuba's official international cultural organization. Essays of his impressions of Cuban life appeared in Cuaderno Cubano (1969; "Cuban Notebook"). El cumpleaos de Juan ngel (1971; "The Birthday of Juan Angel"), an autobiographical novella published in Mexico, tells of the crisis of political consciousness of the author. He returned to Uruguay in 1971 to help establish a leftist coalition for future elections, but with the military takeover of 1973 Benedetti returned to his former post in Cuba. Con y sin nostalgia (1977; "With and Without Nostalgia") is a collection of short stories about violence and exile.