Gabriel Zaid is a Mexican writer,
poet and intellectual.
Early life
He was born in the city of
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
,
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
, on January 24, 1934, son of Palestinian immigrants, is a Mexican thinker (poet, essayist, economist, businessman, engineer, anarchist, reader, Catholic, liberal, critical of progress that does not produce) difficult to classify due to its wide variety of knowledge and culture.
He has been recognized, mainly, for his critical essays, which cover topics on politics, culture and the economy of Mexico.
He is considered an independent intellectual, since he publishes on his own and in favor of readers. He has never worked for universities, neither for the government nor political parties.
He studied Engineering at the
Tecnológico de Monterrey.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the ''
Vuelta '' magazine from 1976 to 1992.
[ Jaime Perales Contreras: "Octavio Paz y el circulo de la revista Vuelta". Ann Arbor, Michigan: Proquest, 2007. p.380-395. UMI Number 3256542] He has been a member of
El Colegio Nacional since September 26, 1984. He has been a member of the
Mexican Academy of Language since 1986. He has distinguished himself for never appearing in public—not even his picture has been taken. This springs from a strongly held opinion that a writer should be known by his work, not his real life personality. His essays have been very influential on a vast array of topics, most significantly poetry, economics, and criticism of the literary establishment.
*''Fábula de Narciso y Ariadna'' (Fable of Narciso and Ariadna) (1958);
*''Seguimiento'' (Following) (1964);
*''Campo nudista'' (Nudist Camp) (1969);
*''Lina'' (1972);
*''Práctica mortal'' (Deadly Practice) (1973);
*''Cuestionario'' (Questionnaire) (1976);
*''Canciones de Vidyapati'' (Songs of
Vidyapati) (1978);
*''Sonetos y canciones'' (Sonnets and Songs) (1992);
*''Reloj de sol'' (Sun Clock) (1995).
Essays on poetry
*''La poesía, fundamento de la ciudad'' (Poetry, Foundation of the City) (1963);
*''La máquina de cantar'' (The Singing Machine) (1967);
*''Leer poesía'' (Reading Poetry) (1972
Xavier Villarrutia Award The Xavier Villaurrutia Award (Premio Xavier Villaurrutia) is a prestigious literary prize given in Mexico, to a Latin American writer published in Mexico. Founded in 1955, it was named in memory of Xavier Villaurrutia.
Multiple awards have been gi ...
);
*''La poesía en la práctica'' (Poetry in Practice) (1985
Magda Donato Award
Magda is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of names such as Magdalena, which may refer to:
* Magda Apanowicz (born 1985), Canadian actress
* Magda B. Arnold (1903–2002), Czechoslovakian-born American psychologist
* Magd ...
);
*''Un amor imposible de López Velarde'' (An Impossible Love of López Velarde) (1986);
*''Muerte y resurrección de la cultura católica'' (Death and Resurrection of Catholic Culture) (1992);
*''Ensayos sobre poesía'' (Essays on Poetry) (1993);
*''Tres poetas católicos'' (Three Catholic Poets) (1997).
Poetry Anthologies
*''Ómnibus de poesía mexicana'' (Omnibus of Mexican Poems) (1971);
*''Asamblea de poetas jóvenes de México'' (Assembly of Young Mexican Poets) (1980);
*''Antología poética de Manuel M. Ponce'' (Poem Anthology of
Manuel M. Ponce
Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten traditio ...
) (1980).
Criticism about the Cultural World
*''Cómo leer en bicicleta'' (How to Read on a Bicycle) (1975);
*''Problemas de una cultura matriotera'' (Problems of a Mother-Idolizing Culture) (1982);
*''Imprenta y vida pública de Daniel Cosío Villegas'' (Printing House and Public Life of
Daniel Cosío Villegas) (1985);
*''¿Adivinos o libreros?'' (Fortune Tellers or Book Store Owners) (1986);
*''De los libros al poder'' (From Books to Power) (1988);
*''Legítima defensa de la exención autoral que hacen numerosos autores mexicanos con buenas razones y ejemplos desde los tiempos prehispánicos'' (Legitimate Defense of the Author Exemption made by several Mexican Authors with Good Reasons and Examples since Pre-Hispanic Times) (1993).
*''Los demasiados libros'' (So Many Books) (1996); English translation 2003 (Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia).
Social criticism
*''El progreso improductivo'' (The Improductive Progress) (1979);
*''La feria del progreso'' (The Progress Fair) (1982);
*''La economía presidencial'' (The Presidential Economy) (1987);
*''La nueva economía presidencial'' (The New Presidential Economy) (1994);
*''Hacen falta empresarios creadores de empresarios'' (There's a Need of Entrepreneur-creating Entrepreneurs) (1995);
*''Adiós al PRI'' (Farewell to the
PRI) (1995).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaid, Gabriel
1934 births
Living people
Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico)
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education alumni
20th-century Mexican poets
Mexican male poets
Writers from Monterrey
Mexican essayists
Male essayists
Members of the Mexican Academy of Language
Mexican columnists
20th-century Mexican male writers
Mexican people of Palestinian descent
Mexican people of Arab descent