Horacio Quiroga (1878-1937) was an Uruguayan playwright, poet, nd short-story writer, considered to be the father of the Latin American short story. Quiroga was a well-known writer and many of his books were popular during his lifetime. Quiroga’s life was plagued with tragedies, suicides, and early deaths. His father died in a hunting accident when Quiroga was one year old and in 1901 he accidentally killed his best friend. His first wife killed herself and in 1937 he himself put an end to his life, after being diagnosed with cancer. His most famous stories take place in the jungles of Misiones and depict man’s impotence against nature’s violent horror. During his entire life, Quiroga was attracted again and again to the jungle and lived in Misiones long periods of time. Quiroga recognized Edgar Allen Poe as a major influence on his work, as well as writers such as Guy de Maupassant and Rudyard Kipling.