Pedro Shimose

Pedro Shimose Kawamura (born 30 March 1940) is a poet, journalist, professor and essayist from Bolivia.

Shimose was born in 1940 to Japanese-Bolivian parents in the town of Riberalta in the lowland Beni department.

He studied at the Higher University of San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia, and graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.

He specialized in journalism and worked for some time on the newspaper Presencia. He also taught at the Higher University of San Andrés.

Since Triludio en el exilio ("Triludio in exile") was first released in 1961, eight further poetry collections by Shimose have been published: Sardonia ("Isle of Snark"), Poemas para un pueblo ("Poems for a people"), Caducidad del fuego ("Fire's expiration date"), Al pie de la letra ("Letter of the law"), Reflexiones maquiavélicas ("Machiavellian reflections"), Bolero de caballería ("Calvary jacket"), Riberalta, and Poemas ("Poems").

Other publications include a book of short stories, El Coco se llama Drilo ("The Boogeyman's name is Drilo"), and a Diccionario de autores iberoamericanos ("Dictionary of Latin American authors").

He has been based in Madrid, Spain since 1971.

Shimose is considered one of Bolivia's most notable poets.

In 1972, he was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize for the poetry collection Quiero escribir, pero me sale espuma ("I want to write, but all that comes out is bubbly froth").

In 1999, he received the Premio Nacional de Cultura de Bolivia.

He is a member of the Academia Boliviana de la Lengua and of the Spanish Association of Art Critics.

Shimose is best known for his politically inspired poetry which touches on the themes of national identity and social liberation.