Can
modernism be blue?
TRIVIA
His parents were Manuel Garcia and Rosa Sarmiento Aleman, but
he was raised by his mothers aunt and uncle, the colonel
Felix Ramirez Madregil and his wife Bernarda Sarmiento. |
With
the publication of Blue (Azul), a collection of poetic
texts in prose and verse, Ruben Dario gave birth to modernism,
a literary movement of the second half of the 19th century which
infused new life to Spanish poetry.
Dario
pushed the perfection of form, developed the musical possibilities
of words and created a form of expression for every mood.
As
the Argentinean Anderson Imbert said, In Spanish his name
divides history into before and after.
DARIAN
METRICS
The number and variety of stanzas used by Dario exceeded 134,
and among them he highlighted the use of the French Alexandrine;
its introduction into Castilian poetry was the cornerstone of
its poetic revolution. |
Felix
Ruben Garcia Sarmiento, better known as Ruben Dario, was born on
January 18, 1867, in Metapa, Nicaragua, which is today Ciudad Dario.
From
a very young age he was attracted to literature, and at age 12 he
published his first poems: The Faith, A Tear,
and The Disillusionment.
In
1882 he traveled to El Salvador, where he engaged in the activities
that would continue throughout his life; traveling, writing poems,
writing for newspapers and taking part in diplomatic activities,
mixed with a bohemian lifestyle, emotional turbulence, and recurring
economic and personal crises.
After
the publication of Blue (Azul) while he was in Chile,
he returned to Nicaragua, traveled again to El Salvador where he
married Rafaela Contreras, and then visited Guatemala, Costa Rica
and Spain, where he was received by the most important political
and cultural figures.
As
a man I have lived in the daily; as a poet, I have conceded
nothing..
|
In
1893 Rafaela died, and he married Rosario Murillo; he traveled to
Panama and then to Buenos Aires as the Colombian Consul; and visited
New York and Paris.
In
1896 he published his second major work, Profane Prose and
Other Poems, which showcased his fully original and rich lyrical
style, propelling him to the status of a leader with enormous influence
on all contemporary authors, who admire, imitate, and mythologize
him.
He
traveled once again to Spain, where he began living with Francisca
Sanchez, a country woman who is recognized in one of his love poems
as Gods guide along his path.
OPINIONS
ABOUT DARIO
Enrique Anderson Imbert: He was a symphonic orchestra.
Jorge Luis Borges: We can call him the liberator.
Octavio Paz: He is the founder.
Angel Rama: Quintessentially American. |
He
divided his time between Spain and Paris, with occasional visits
to other regions of Europe and North Africa.
In
1905 he published Songs of Life and Hope, a collection
of poems that show the art of the poet in all of his maturity, dedicated
to the exaltation of Latin Americans, and reflecting his growing
concerns about the future of Spanish America.
After
a tour of the U.S., he returned to Nicaragua where he died February
6, 1916, in the city of Leon, at 49 years of age, having established
the literary independence of Latin America almost 100 years after
it achieved political independence.
His
philosophy of life, as reflected in his work, is summarized by him
as follows: I work everywhere, progressing as much as I want
or can; but I leave the field open where Rocinante finds pasture
and Don Quixote believes he sees armies of giants.
Rubén
Darío, an example of the best of the latin spirit.
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