Sergio Ramírez is a Nicaraguan writer and prominent figure in the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Somoza family dictatorship. Ramírez later served as vice president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990. He has published more than 50 books and has received various literary awards, including the Cervantes Prize in 2017. Ramírez has lived in exile in Madrid since 2021.

This fall, he is a visiting professor at Princeton University and is teaching two seminars: an undergraduate course called “Literature and Politics in Latin America” and a graduate course called “Spanish Modernism, 19th to 20th Century.”

Ramírez recently spoke with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese to discuss his courses, his life in politics and his passion for writing.