José Gorostiza Alcalá (10 November 1901 – 16 March 1973) was a Mexican

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. For his achievements in the poetic arts, he was made a member of the .

Biography

José Gorostiza was born in the

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

city of Villahermosa, then known as San Juan Bautista, to Celestino Gorostiza and Elvira Alcalá de Gorostiza. He was a descendant of the Spanish playwright

Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza Manuel María del Pilar Eduardo de Gorostiza y Cepeda (13 October 1789 – 23 October 1851) was a Mexican Spanish writer, dramatist and diplomat. He was the son of Pedro Fernández de Gorostiza, governor of the port of Veracruz, and the poet Ros ...

. His younger brother

Celestino Celestino is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Anthony Celestino, the touring bassist for the ''Blink-182'' side project, Box Car Racer *Celestino Alfonso (1916–1944), Spanish republican and volunteer in the ...

would also become an important artist. He moved to Mexico City to attend the

National Preparatory School The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founde ...

and later the Colegio Francés de Mascarones. After graduating from the

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

, he worked first as a professor at his alma mater and then at the National School of Teachers in 1932. After teaching followed a series of important

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

jobs in the government: head of the Department of

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

at the

Secretariat of Public Education The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...

(1932-1935) and head of the Department of Publicity at the Secretariat of Foreign Relations (1935-1937). Subsequently, he served in various diplomatic and

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

ial capacities, including: Director General of Political Affairs at the Secretariat of Foreign Relations, Director General of the Diplomatic Service (Secretariat of Foreign Relations) (1944), Ambassador to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

(1950-1951), Secretary of Foreign Relations (1964), and head of the National Commission of

Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

(1965-1970).

Literary endeavors

Between 1928 and 1931, he was part of the influential

vanguardist Vanguardism in the context of Leninist revolutionary struggle, relates to a strategy whereby the most class-conscious and politically "advanced" sections of the proletariat or working class, described as the revolutionary vanguard, form organi ...

group , to which , , , , , and also belonged. His literary output, though sparse, was rich in content. His first book of poetry, ' (''Songs to Sing on Boats''), appeared in 1925. After a lull of fourteen years came what is considered his

masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ' (''Death without End''). In 1964, he published ' (''Poetry''), a collection of his previously published work plus a section dedicated to unfinished pieces called ' (''Of the Frustrated Poem''). In 1969, he published a book of essays titled ' (''Prose''). On May 14, 1954, he was elected a member of the , at the occasion of which he read an essay entitled "" ("Notes on Poetry"). On March 22, 1955, he became a

numerary Numerary may refer to: *Numerary, one of the types of membership of Opus Dei * Numerary protonotary, a historical position in Roman Catholic Church *Numerary nexus, in musical tuning *Numerary system in naval flag signalling Naval flag signallin ...

member of the same and held

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

25. He died, aged 71, in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Awards

National Prize for Arts and Sciences The National Prize for Arts and Sciences ( es, Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes) is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal a ...

(''Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes'') (1968) * Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1958)

Selected published works

* ', 1925 * ', 1939 * ', 1964 * ', 1969 * '. Edited by , 1988 * '. Edited by , 1996

References

Bibliography

* Camp, Roderic Ai, ''Mexican political biographies, 1935-1993''. The Hague: Mouton, 1993. * Cortés, Eladio, ''Dictionary of Mexican Literature''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992. * Xirau, Ramón, '. Mexico: Ant. Libr. Robredo, 1955.

External links

* *

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorostiza, Jose 1901 births 1973 deaths Writers from Tabasco People from Villahermosa Ambassadors of Mexico to Greece Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Members of the Mexican Academy of Language Mexican educators 20th-century Mexican poets Mexican male poets 20th-century Mexican male writers Mexican people of Basque descent National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany