Blanca Leonor Varela Gonzáles (10 August 1926 – 12 March 2009) was a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian poet. Daughter of writer, poet, singer and journalist Serafina Quinteras.

Biography

Blanca Varela was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

. Her mother was a composer who authored many famous creole

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

es. She studied Humanities and Education at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...

where she met other future writers such as Sebastián Salazar Bondy,

Javier Sologuren Javier Sologuren Moreno (Lima, 19 January 1921 – 21 May 2004) was a Peruvian writer and poet. Biography ''Javier Sologuren'' received a doctoral degree in Hispanic literature at the National University of San Marcos and also made postdegree ...

Jorge Eduardo Eielson Jorge Eduardo Eielson (April 13, 1924 – March 8, 2006) was a Peruvian artist and writer. As an artist he is known for his quipus, a reinterpretation of an ancient Andean device, they are considered precursors of conceptual art. Life and ...

, and her future husband, the artist and sculptor

Fernando de Szyszlo Fernando de Szyszlo Valdelomar (5 July 1925 – 9 October 2017) was a Peruvian painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, printmaking, printmaker, and teaching, teacher who was a key figure in advancing abstraction, abstract art in Latin America ...

with whom she had two children. In 1949 they travelled to Paris where she met

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

, a key figure in her life, who introduced her to the artists and intellectuals there, such as André Breton,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

, Simone de Beauvoir,

Henri Michaux Henri Michaux (; 24 May 1899 – 19 October 1984) was a Belgian-born French poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim ...

, Alberto Giacometti and Fernand Léger, among others; and also other Latin American authors who lived in France at that time, for example Carlos Martínez Rivas. While in Paris was part of the group of expatriates Latin American artists and writers who met regularly at the

Café de Flore The Café de Flore () is one of the oldest coffeehouses in Paris, celebrated for its famous clientele, which in the past included high-profile writers and philosophers. It is located at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue Saint-Beno ...

, engaging in vigorous discussions on how they could participate in the international modern movement while preserving their Latin American cultural identity. Paz persuaded her to publish her poetry, and in the preface to the first edition of her debut book ''Ese puerto existe'' (1959) he wrote: "At that time we all used to sing. And among those songs you could hear a lonesome song of one Peruvian girl: Blanca Varela. The most secret, timid and natural of them all." Rigorous Poetry and Enjoyment; "of rebellion", in the words of

. Later Varela lived in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and Washington, D.C. In 1962 she returned to Lima and since then traveled mainly to US, Spain and France. She was awarded the ''Medalla de Honor'' by the Peruvian National Institute of Culture, the ''Premio Octavio Paz de Poesía y Ensayo'' (Octavio Paz Prize for poetry and essays), the ''Premio Internacional de Poesía Ciudad de Granada Federico García Lorca'' (City of Granada

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

International Poetry Prize, 2006; as the first woman ever), and the ''Premio Reina Sofía de Poesía Iberoamericana'' (Queen Sophia's Prize for Iberoamerican Poetry, 2007).

Poetry

Her poems are

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

in the way that they try to express the world in an innocent way from the inner space's point of view, yet they cannot prevent cruelty from coming into them from the outside world. This attempt to find perfection with every new poem has, according to

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

who used Varela's poem ''Ternera acosada por tábanos'' (''Calf tortured by horse-flies'')Ternera acosada por tábanos
/ref> as a notable example of her philosophy, "the quality of heroes from ancient myths who die, but fight to the very last moment anyway." Her books have been translated into English, German, Italian,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, Russian and

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

. Collections of poetry * ''Ese puerto existe'' (That port exists), 1959 * ''Luz de día'' (Daylight), 1963 * ''Valses y otras falsas confesiones'' (Waltzes and other false confessions), 1971 * ''Ejercicios materiales'' (Material exercises), 1978-1993 * ''Canto Villano'' (Song of dirtiness), 1978 * ''Camino a Babel'' (Road to Babel), 1986 * ''El libro de barro'' (The Book of Clay), 1993-1994 * ''Concierto animal'' (Animals' concert), 1999 * ''Poesía Escogida'' * ''Como Dios en la Nada'' (Anthology 1949–1988) * ''El falso teclado'' (The Fake Keyboard), 2001

References

External links

Info, photo and poetry in English

10. 5. 2007, Lorca's Granada Prize, with a photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varela G, Blanca 1926 births 2009 deaths People from Lima Peruvian people of Galician descent Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian people of Ecuadorian descent Peruvian women poets Peruvian surrealist writers Prix Roger Caillois recipients 20th-century Peruvian writers 20th-century Peruvian poets 20th-century Peruvian women writers 21st-century Peruvian writers 21st-century Peruvian poets 21st-century Peruvian women writers National University of San Marcos alumni Surrealist artists Surrealist writers by nationality Surrealist writers Women surrealist artists