Leonel Lienlaf is a Mapuche poet and musician who was born in Alepue, Chile, in 1969. Considered one of the founders of Mapuche poetry, in 1990 Lienlaf won the Santiago’s Municipal Prize for Literature for his first book Se ha despertado el ave de mi corazón, which was written both in Spanish and in Mapudungun, the language of his people.

Lienlaf is particularly invested in the recovery of Mapuche territories and ritual spaces as well as in the idea of rebuilding Mapuche unity. Lienlaf writes to preserve the memories of his people. The choice of writing in Mapudungun is not only an attempt to resist colonization and revitalize the language, but also a way of strengthening the connection between word and land, language and territory. By connecting human and nonhuman, Mapuche environment and history, Lienlaf strives to keep alive the culture of his people, their voices, and their legacy.

Other important bilingual books by Lienlaf are: Palabras soñadas (Pewma Dungu) (2003), Epu zuam (2016), and La luz cae vertical (2018).