Erwin Kempton Mapes (9 June 1884 – 18 February 1961) was an American scholar of Spanish-American literature and Hispanist, renowned for his work on the Hispanic Modernists. Born in

Gilman, Illinois Gilman is a city in Douglas Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,738 at the 2020 census. Geography Gilman is located in the western part of the county at the intersection of three major highways: Interstate ...

, Mapes received his

bachelors A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

Mount Vernon, Iowa Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The population was 4,527 at the time of the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Mount Vernon ...

, in 1909. He then went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and studied Hispanic Studies under

Jeremiah D. M. Ford Jeremiah Denis Mathias Ford (1873–1958) was an American educator and author. He was the Smith Professor Emeritus of the French and Spanish Languages and Literature at Harvard University from 1907 to 1943. He was the youngest-ever to be appointe ...

, receiving his

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1915.Roggiano, Alfredo A. (September 1961) "Erwin Kempton Mapes (1884-1961)" '' Hispania'' 44(3): pp. 461-464
/ref> He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

with a study on

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (January 18, 1867 – February 6, 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as ''modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

, published in 1925 as ''L'influence française dans l'oeuvre de Rubén Darío''. Before receiving his doctorate, Mapes taught at various small colleges including

Western State College of Colorado Western Colorado University (Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergraduate areas ...

in Gunnison. Afterwards, in 1925, he was appointed as an associate professor at the

State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, where he taught until his retirement. He was made Professor (full professor) in 1937. During his life he concentrated his study of literary criticism on

Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (; December 22, 1859 – February 3, 1895) was a Mexican writer and political figure. Biography Gutiérrez Nájera was born to catholic parents Manuel Gutiérrez Gómez (1818-1889) and Dolores Nájera y Huerta (1831-18 ...

and

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in Spanish-American literature. He was for many years considered the highest authority in these subjects. Almost all of his work was published in American and French journals. He also published a few textbooks, such as ''Y va de cuento'' (1943), in collaboration with (who married his daughter Frances, who would become an important Spanish-English translator). In 1958 he published a critical edition of ''Cuentos completos y otras narraciones'' of Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapes, Erwin Kempton 1884 births 1961 deaths Harvard University alumni University of Paris alumni American literary critics Literary critics of Spanish Latin Americanists Western State Colorado University faculty American Hispanists University of Iowa faculty Cornell College alumni