The article is written on the occasion of the birth centenary of the famous Paraguayan writer Augusto Roa Bastos, one of the creators and outstanding representatives of the New Latin American novel. The article is an overview of the writer’s creative work, beginning with his early experiments in poetry, drama and prose and ending with his latest novels. A special attention is paid to the analysis of the two best novels — Son of Man and I, the Supreme. Both novels are experimental and are distinguished by their innovation in genre, composition, narrative technique, combination of historicism and fantasy. The artistic world of the writer is inextricably linked with Paraguay, but his works have nothing to do with “localism” or “regionalism”. The main feature of Roa Bastos’ poetics is that he reinterprets his native reality in the mythopoetic mode, saturating the narrative with a deep symbolism that endows his best works with a truly universal appeal.