The Author: Born in Asunción, Paraguay in 1950, Juan Manuel Marcos spent years as a political exile in Spain and the United States, during which time he earned two doctoral degrees and established himself as an important figure in Latin American literary criticism. Returning to Paraguay in 1989, he is now President of Norte University and a major political figure. Among his prior publications are Poemas (1970, René Dávalos Poetry Award) and Roa Bastos: precursor del post-boom (1982, Plural International Essay Award). Gunter's Winter first appeared in 1987 as El invierno de Gunter and won that year's Paraguayan Book-of-the-Year Award.
The Translator: Tracy Karl Lewis received his Ph.D. in Hispanic studies from Brown University. Currently coordinator of the Spanish program at the State University of New York in Oswego, Lewis has written and lectured extensively on Paraguayan and Peruvian literature. He has a special interest in the Guarani literature of Paraguay.