Joaquín Pasos
Encyclopedia
Joaquín Pasos was a Nicaraguan
poet, narrator, and essayist. He was one of the leading figures of the national Vanguardia literary movement. The poem Pasos is best known for was his Canto de guerra de las cosas (The song of the war of things) poem.
, Nicaragua
and studied at the Universidad Centroamericana. During his puberty and incipient adolescence, he was a literary prodigy. Pasos began to write relentlessly at the age of 14, opening in that way what should later become the first of his two creating phases. The first one of these creating phases would take place between 1928 and 1935.
In this stage he only showed a broad ability to apprehend and digest the style and patterns of some modern literary figures such as Paul Morand
, Valery Larbaud
, Philippe Soupault
, J. J. Van Doren, Rafael Alberti
& Gerardo Diego
. We can also observe a certain obsession with geographic eccentricities (the poems “Norway”, “Cook Voyages”, “German dream No.5”) and a juvenile fetish for foreign actresses.
; with a lyrical self that pends between love and humor; Pasos began to write some of America
’s most original love poems (“Immense poem”, “Invention of a new kiss”, “Construction of your body”, “Big poem about strong love”) and entered the waters of the indigenous side of Nicaraguans’ nicaraguancy (“The blind Indians”, “The old Indians”, “Two cries”, “Indian fallen in the market”).
After the writing of these poems, he wrote his masterpiece, “The song of the war of things”, that, in contrast to T. S. Eliot
’s The Waste Land
, covered in a much more global manner, the physical and metaphysical position of the man of the 20th century. This is the last stanza of the poem:
called him, was commonly known in his country for his humoristic labor. Next to Joaquín Zavala
, he created “Opera Bufa” a political, literary & humoristic magazine that denounced the Liberal and Conservative political parties. He also worked next to poet Manolo Cuadra, the humorist and poet Ge Erre Ene (Germán Rivas Novoa), the other humorist Alejandro Cuadra and the cartoonist Antonio López
in “Los Lunes” a humoristic magazine that attacked the dictator Somoza García.
, capital of Nicaragua, January 20, 1947.
Nicaraguan
Nicaraguans are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world...
poet, narrator, and essayist. He was one of the leading figures of the national Vanguardia literary movement. The poem Pasos is best known for was his Canto de guerra de las cosas (The song of the war of things) poem.
Biography and early writing
Pasos was born in GranadaGranada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and studied at the Universidad Centroamericana. During his puberty and incipient adolescence, he was a literary prodigy. Pasos began to write relentlessly at the age of 14, opening in that way what should later become the first of his two creating phases. The first one of these creating phases would take place between 1928 and 1935.
In this stage he only showed a broad ability to apprehend and digest the style and patterns of some modern literary figures such as Paul Morand
Paul Morand
Paul Morand was a French diplomat, novelist, playwright and poet, considered an early Modernist.He was a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies...
, Valery Larbaud
Valery Larbaud
Valery Larbaud was a French writer.-Life:He was born in Vichy, Allier, the only child of a pharmacist. His father died when he was 8, and he was brought up by his mother and aunt. His father had been owner of the Vichy Saint-Yorre mineral water springs, and the family fortune assured him an easy...
, Philippe Soupault
Philippe Soupault
Philippe Soupault was a French writer and poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He was active in Dadaism and later founded the Surrealist movement with André Breton...
, J. J. Van Doren, Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27....
& Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego Cendoya was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27.Gerardo Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid...
. We can also observe a certain obsession with geographic eccentricities (the poems “Norway”, “Cook Voyages”, “German dream No.5”) and a juvenile fetish for foreign actresses.
Later writing
After 1935–and until his death–his poetry obtains its own voice. In this phase Pasos reaches his maturity as a writer; the poet has hatched from the avant-garde egg & enters the world each writer secretly creates between his firstly written lines. With an exceptionally rich metaphorMetaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
; with a lyrical self that pends between love and humor; Pasos began to write some of America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
’s most original love poems (“Immense poem”, “Invention of a new kiss”, “Construction of your body”, “Big poem about strong love”) and entered the waters of the indigenous side of Nicaraguans’ nicaraguancy (“The blind Indians”, “The old Indians”, “Two cries”, “Indian fallen in the market”).
After the writing of these poems, he wrote his masterpiece, “The song of the war of things”, that, in contrast to T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
’s The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
, covered in a much more global manner, the physical and metaphysical position of the man of the 20th century. This is the last stanza of the poem:
Career
“Joaquinillo”, like the other Nicaraguan poet Carlos Martínez RivasCarlos Martinez Rivas
Carlos Martínez Rivas is a Nicaraguan poet most famous for his poem "El paraíso recobrado" , a love poem first published in 1944.-Early years and time in Spain:...
called him, was commonly known in his country for his humoristic labor. Next to Joaquín Zavala
Joaquín Zavala
Joaquín Zavala Solís was the President of Nicaragua from 1 March 1879 to 1 March 1883 and from 16 to 25 July 1893...
, he created “Opera Bufa” a political, literary & humoristic magazine that denounced the Liberal and Conservative political parties. He also worked next to poet Manolo Cuadra, the humorist and poet Ge Erre Ene (Germán Rivas Novoa), the other humorist Alejandro Cuadra and the cartoonist Antonio López
Antonio Lopez
Antonio Lopez is the name of:* Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general, famous for leading Mexican forces to victory at the Battle of the Alamo* Antonio Lopez , American fashion illustrator* Antonio López Álvarez, Spanish football player...
in “Los Lunes” a humoristic magazine that attacked the dictator Somoza García.
Death
In almost full anonymity–at an international level–Pasos died in ManaguaManagua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, capital of Nicaragua, January 20, 1947.