Julio Florencio Cortazar was born to Argentine parents in Brussels, Belgium in 1914, but his family returned to live on the outskirts of Buenos Aires when he was four and he spent the rest of his childhood there.
After completing his schooling, he published his first collection of poems, Presencia, in 1938 under the pseudonym Julio Denis.
Cortazar, who worked at times as a professor and translator, is best known for his experimental novels, especially Rayuela, and fantastical short stories. Among his most renowned collections of short stories are Bestiario, Las Armas Secretas (which includes one of his masterworks, El perseguidor) Todos los fuegos el fuego, Octaedro and Queremos tanto a Glenda.
Historias de cronopios y de famas, La vuelta al dia en ochenta mundos and Ultimo round are works of his that are a blend of fictional narrative and imaginative essay and are difficult to classify.
He died in Paris on Feb. 12, 1984.
