Helena Araújo Ortiz (20 January 1934 – 2 February 2015) was a writer and an international professor of Latin American literature and women's studies. Her works of

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

have appeared in various Latin American and European literary journals.

Personal life

Helena was born on 20 January 1934 in Bogotá, D.C.,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, the second of four children to

Alfonso Araújo Gaviria Alfonso Araújo Gaviria (28 July 1902 — 4 February 1961) was a Colombian lawyer, diplomat, and Liberal party politician, who served as the 8th Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, the 3rd Ambassador of Colombia to Brazi ...

and Emma Ortiz Márquez. She married Pierre Albrecht de Martini with whom she had four daughters: Priscilla, Gisèle, Nicole and Jocelyne. She spent her childhood and adolescence between Colombia and Venezuela, Brazil, and the United States where her father was stationed as a diplomat; she attended her high school senior year at Immaculata High School, in Washington, D.C. (1948-1949) graduating at the age of 15. She continued her education with studies in literature at the University of Maryland (1949-1950). Back in Colombia she pursued studies in literature and philosophy at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, Ces ...

until 1951 when she got married. In 1971 she and her daughters moved to Switzerland where shortly thereafter she became a widow and where she has remained ever since. She continued her education in literature and philosophy at the University of Geneva and the University of Lausanne.

Career

She has published numerous

articles, several fiction books, multiple short stories and essays. She has been translated from Spanish into English, French, Italian and German. She has taught Latin American culture and literature at the Popular University of Lausanne, Switzerland (1994-2002) and has presented numerous seminars and courses internationally about Latin American women writers.

Recognition

She is the recipient of literary prizes including the 1984 Platero Award by the Spanish Book Club of the

United Nations in Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG ...

for her essay ''Post-nadaístas colombianas''. In 2005 Lausanne District and the Embassy of Colombia in Switzerland gave tribute to Araújo for her work in literature. In 2009 Araújo was honoured during the VI Gathering of Colombian Women Writer

'' El Tiempo (Colombia), El Tiempo'' published a short memoir that was presented during the tribute.El Tiempo - Helena Araújo
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Selected works

Books * * * * * * * * * Chapters * * * Journal articles *

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo Ortiz, Helena 1934 births 2015 deaths Writers from Bogotá Colombian emigrants to Switzerland National University of Colombia alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Geneva alumni University of Lausanne alumni Literary critics of Spanish Colombian literary critics Women literary critics Colombian women short story writers Colombian short story writers Feminist studies scholars Feminist writers Colombian essayists Colombian women essayists Colombian women novelists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Colombian novelists 20th-century Colombian women writers 21st-century Colombian women writers 21st-century Colombian novelists Colombian women anthropologists Colombian expatriates in the United States