Claribel Alegría Papers

Alegría, Claribel

Claribel Alegría was born on May 12, 1924, in Estelí, Nicaragua, grew up in El Salvador, and moved to the United States in 1943. Shortly after her birth, her family was forced into political exile and sought refuge in El Salvador. Alegría attended finishing school in Hammond, Louisiana, and studied at George Washington University under the tutelage of Juan Ramón Jiménez. In 1947, she married Darwin J. (Bud) Flakoll, who became her life-long collaborator and translator. After graduating with a B.A. in 1948, Alegría published her first collection of poems, Anillo de silencio. Alegría and Flakoll moved frequently during the 1950s, traversing Latin America as a result of Flakoll's position in the United States Foreign Service. During this period, Alegría brought out several poetry collections as well as an anthology of Latin American writing, New Voices of Hispanic America, that she co-edited with Flakoll. After settling in Paris with their four children (Maya, Karen, Patricia, and Erik), Alegría and Flakoll collaborated on a novel, Cenizas de Izalco, centering on the matanza, the 1932 massacre of 30,000 peasants in Izalco, El Salvador. This novel as well as her poetry mark her as a member of la Generación Comprometida (the Committed Generation), a literary movement of the 1950s and 1960s dedicated to social and political justice. In 1966, Alegría and Flakoll moved to Mallorca and continued writing poetry and novels. With the success of the Sandinista Revolution in 1979, Alegría and Flakoll returned to Nicaragua to document the experiences of those who took part. Her poetry came to reflect her developing political awareness as she responded to death squads, massacres, and the legacy of dictatorship and oppression. Alegría has continued her political and poetic engagement with Central America, dedicating herself to the struggle for human rights. The death of Bud Flakoll in 1995 inspired her poetry collection Saudade/Sorrow. She has written over forty books in such diverse genres as poetry, essays, novels, and short stories. She was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize in 1978 and the 2006 Neustadt Prize for World Literature.

Cortázar, Julio

Julio Cortázar was born on August 26, 1914, in Brussels, Belgium, where his Argentine parents, Julio José Cortázar and María Herminia Descotte de Cortázar, were on a business trip. Once World War I began, the family was forced to remain in Europe for several years. Finally in 1918 they returned to Argentina and settled in a suburb of Buenos Aires. Cortázar's father left the family soon afterwards, and Julio and his sister were raised by their mother and aunt.

Starting at a young age, Cortázar demonstrated both a love of and aptitude for literature and received nurturing and guidance in his writing from his teachers. Cortázar received primary (1932) and secondary (1935) teaching degrees, but due to economic reasons, he was forced to cut short his studies at Universidad de Buenos Aires and begin teaching in the remote provincial towns of Bolívar and Chivilcoy. From 1944 to 1945 Cortázar taught French literature at Universidad de Cuyo, Mendoza, but in 1946 he resigned as a result of his political views and his anti-Perón demonstrations.

Back in Buenos Aires, Cortázar worked for the publishing group Cámara Argentina del Libro (1946-1948), completed a translation degree in record time, and worked as a public translator (1948-1951). During these years his short stories "Casa tomada" and "Lejana" appeared in Jorge Luis Borges' literary magazine Los Anales de Buenos Aires, and he published a theoretical work, Teoría del túnel (1947). The novel El examen, written in 1950, was initially rejected by the publisher and only released posthumously in 1986. In 1951 Cortázar published the short story collection Bestiario and began his voluntary exile from Argentina by moving to Paris. In the French capital Cortázar quickly became a translator for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a position he would hold for the rest of his life.

On August 23, 1953, Cortázar married fellow Argentine translator Aurora Bernárdez. Although they divorced after twenty years, the two remained close friends. His second marriage was to Canadian writer Carol Dunlop with whom he collaborated on Los autonautas de la cosmopista: O, un viaje atemporal París-Marsella (1983), a surrealistic account of their month-long journey on the French highway.

Cortázar belonged to the "boom" generation of Latin American writers who broke new ground with their work during the 1950s and 1960s. He is perhaps most well known for the highly experimental novel Rayuela (1963) and the socio-politically based Libro de Manuel (1973). His literary production included other novels—Los premios [1960], 62: Modelo para armar [1968] and Un tal Lucas [1979]), poetry (Los reyes [1949], Pameos y meopas [1971], and Salvo el crepúsculo [1984]) and essays ( La casilla de los Morelli [1973], Argentina: Años de almabradas culturales [1984] and Nicaragua: Tan violentamente dulce [1983]—but predominately consisted of short stories: Final del juego [1950], Las armas secretas [1959], Historias del cronopios y de famas [1962], Todos los fuegos el fuego [1966], Alguien que anda por ahí y otros relatos [1977], and Queremos tanto a Glenda [1980].

Cortázar was also a frequent traveler and advocate of human rights. He was particularly concerned about the torture of political prisoners and the repressive rule of dictators in Latin America. A socialist, he supported both the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions. Cortázar promoted his views through speaking engagements and political essays. He also made several trips to the United States and participated in conferences at University of California, Berkeley (1980).

Cortázar died of leukemia and heart disease on February 12, 1984. He was buried in Montparnassee Cemetery alongside Carol Dunlop.

Ramírez, Sergio (1942)

Sergio Ramírez Mercado was born in Masatepe, Masaya (Nicaragua) on August 5, 1942. He attended Universidad Autónoma Nacional de Nicaragua – León, where he obtained a degree in law in 1964. Ramírez's activities combined an active participation in the political life of Nicaragua with a prolific output of fiction and nonfiction writings.

Ramírez literary career began in the 1950s, when he published short stories and poems in literary supplements of newspapers. In 1960 Ramírez founded the literary journal Ventana, and, together with Fernando Gordillo, led the literary movement of the same name. His first book, Cuentos, was published in 1963. Between 1973 and 1975 he participated in the Artists-in-Berlin Program of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). He wrote and published without interruption from 1971 to 2008.

His writing output includes novels, short stories, poems, plays, forewords, and several essay books related to Nicaraguan political history and Central American literature. His books and stories received many awards: the Dashiell Hammett Award in 1990 ( Castigo divino), the Premio Internacional de Novela Alfagura in 1998 ( Margarita, está linda la mar), the Laure Bataillon Award in 1998 ( Un baile de máscaras), and the Premio Latinoamericano de Novela José María Arguedas Casa de las Américas in 2000 ( Margarita, está linda la mar). Ramírez was member of the Academia Nicaragüense de la Lengua and of the Real Academia Española.

A big portion of Ramírez's output consists of articles and essays about literature and politics which were regularly published in several newspapers, electronic publications, and blogs in Latin America, the United States, and Europe.

Major Published Works: De Tropeles y Tropelías (San Salvador: Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de El Salvador, 1972) El Pensamiento vivo de Sandino. Editor. (San José: EDUCA, 1975) Charles Atlas también muere (México: Joaquín Mortiz, 1976) ¿Te dio miedo la sangre? (Caracas: Monte Ávila, 1978) Castigo Divino (Madrid: Mondadori, 1988) Clave de Sol (México: Cal y Arena, 1993) Un baile de máscaras (México: Alfaguara, 1995) Cuentos Completos (México: Alfaguara, 1998) Margarita, está linda la mar (Madrid: Alfaguara, 1998) Adiós muchachos (Madrid: Aguilar, 1999) Mentiras Verdaderas (México: Alfagura, 2001) Catalina y Catalina (México: Alfaguara, 2001) Sombras nada más (México: Alfaguara, 2002) El viejo arte de mentir (México: FCE; ITESM, 2004) Mil y una muertes (México: Alfaguara, 2004) Señor de los tristes (San Juan, P.R: La Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2006) El reino animal (México: Alfaguara, 2006).

Political and Public Service Career: Sergio Ramírez started his public service career serving two terms as General Secretary of the Confederación de Universidades Centroamericanas (CSUCA) in Costa Rica in 1968 and 1976. In 1977 he was the leader of Grupo de los Doce, a group formed by intellectuals, businessmen, priests, and civic leaders supporting the activities of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) against the Anastasio Somoza regime. In 1979, with the success of the revolution, he became part of the Junta de Gobierno de Reconstrucción Nacional. In 1984 he was elected Vice President, and as part of his activities he was the chair of The Consejo Nacional de Educación. Between 1990 and 1995 Ramírez was leader of the Sandinista party in the National Assembly, and in 1995 he founded the Movimiento de Renovación Sandinista (MRS). As leader of this party he ran for the presidential elections in 1996 where the MRS got 1.33% of the votes. In 1997 he retired from all political activities.

Sergio Ramírez received several awards, including honorary degrees from Universidad Central del Ecuador (1984), Universidad Blaise Pascal de Clermont-Ferrand (2000), and Universidad de Catamarca (2007); Bruno Kreisky Award in Human Rights (Vienna 1983), Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France (1993), Orden Mariano Fiallos Gil del Consejo Nacional de Universidades de Nicaragua (1994), Medalla Presidencial del Centenario de Pablo Neruda (Chile, 2004), and Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (2007).

Ramírez also had a very active career as teacher and conference lecturer. He taught in the Cátedra Julio Cortázar in the Universidad de Guadalajara (1996), in the Cátedra Alfonso Reyes of the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (2002), at the Freie Universität Berlin in the Samuel Fischer Guest Professorship for Literature (2001), at UCLA in the Regents' Lecturer Program (2003), and as guest teacher at the University of Maryland-College Park (1999-2000). In the United States he was guest lecturer at Princeton University, Cornell University, Rutgers University, Boston University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of California-Irvine, University of Miami, and Middelbury College. He also lectured regularly in Spain (Casa de América, El Ateneo, Universidad de Salamanca, Universidad de Alicante, and Universidad de Albacete), France (Université de Poitiers and Université Blaise Pascal-Clermont-Ferrand) and Mexico (Centro Nacional de las Artes, Colegio Nacional de México, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

Ramírez was also an active force in publishing in Central America. He founded the Editorial Universitaria Centroamericana (EDUCA) in 1978 and in 1981 the Editorial Nueva Nicaragua (ENN). He was a founding member of El Semanario, a newspaper that was published in Managua from 1990 to 2000. In 2004 he started the electronic journal Carátula (www.caratula.net) dedicated to cultural and literary studies.

In 2004, the Fondo de Cultura Económica published Una vida por la palabra, a biographical interview made by Silvia Cherem, with foreword by Carlos Fuentes.

This collection contains notebooks and notes and drafts of Alegría's writings, including manuscripts of Luisa en el país de la realidad, Saudade/Sorrow, and Soltando amarras/Casting Off. Correspondence consists of letters exchanged with family members, publishers, and such writers as Mario Benedetti, Julio Cortázar, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Alfonso Quijada Urías, and Sergio Ramírez. Also includes photographs, audiovisual material, and writings of others on Alegría.

Arranged in the following series and subseries:

Purchased from Claribel Alegría, April 2010 (AM2010-111).

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This collection was processed by Alyssa Meyers in 2010. Finding aid written by Alyssa Meyers in 2010.

No appraisal information is available.

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Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Claribel Alegría Papers, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Publisher

Manuscripts Division

Finding aids author

Alyssa Meyers

Date

2010

Creator

Alegría, Claribel

Subject

Poets, Nicaraguan -- 20th century -- Correspondence

Poets, Nicaraguan -- 20th century -- Manuscripts

Central American poetry

Nicaraguan literature

People

Benedetti, Mário (1920-2009)

Cortázar, Julio

Jiménez, Juan Ramón (1881-1958)

Quijada Urías, Alfonso (1940)

Ramírez, Sergio (1942)

Place

Nicaragua -- History -- Revolution, 1979

Nicaragua -- Politics and government -- 20th century

El Salvador -- Politics and government -- 20th century

Language

Spanish; Castilian

English

French