#uruguay #poem #mariobenedetti
Poetry written in 1974
Spanish to English Translator: Pablo Alfonso
Mario Benedetti (Uruguay, 1920-2009)
BIOGRAPHY
Writer, essayist, and critic
With a voluminous oeuvre covering many literary genres, Mario Benedetti is one of Latin America’s most revered and prolific writers. He was a politically engaged writer. His lyrical work has been popularized by prominent Ibero-American performers.
Born in the countryside, Benedetti’s was raised in Montevideo. He pursued a career in journalism, working for important organs, particularly the influential weekly Marcha. In 1959, Benedetti came to the United States on a fellowship from the American Council of Education. He traveled extensively during the next decade, visiting revolutionary Cuba several times. In Cuba, he founded and led the Center for Literary Research at Casa de las Américas (1968-1971). In 1971, he became a leading member of a left-leaning political coalition in Uruguay. Following the 1973 military coup in Uruguay, Benedetti went into exile, eventually settling in Spain. He returned to Uruguay after the restoration of democracy in 1985.
Benedetti introduced urban themes into Uruguayan literature, critically depicting the world of the middle class in a stagnant Uruguay of the 1950 and 1960s. The experience of political exile pervaded his literary and intellectual work during the 1970s and 1990s. Humor, experimentation combining genres, and a simple and conversational literary style are the hallmarks of his literary work.
Mario Benedetti has received major distinctions and awards, including the Golden Flame from Amnesty International (1987), the Orden al Mérito Docente y Cultural Gabriela Mistral (1996), the Reina Sofía Ibero-American Poetry Prize (1999), the José Martí Ibero-American Prize (2001), and the Menéndez Pelayo International Prize (2005).
Created in 2013, the Mario Benedetti International Prize for the Fight for Human Rights and Solidarity is awarded by the Benedetti Foundation every year on the late writer's date of birth.