Merlin H. Forster was born February 24, 1928 in Delta, Utah. He attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Spanish in 1956. He then attended the University of Illinois and received a Master of Arts degree in Spanish in 1957. He completed his dissertation and received his Doctoral degree in Spanish from the University of Illinois in 1960. He was an instructor of Romance Languages at the University of Texas from 1960-1961 and an Assistant Professor of Romance Languages from 1961-1962. In 1962 he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois as an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese. He taught there until 1978. He was a Professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas from 1979-1987. In 1987 he joined the faculty of Brigham Young University as the H. Darrel Taylor Distinguished Professor of Latin American Literature-a position he held until 1998 when he was named an Emeritus Professor.