Laura Mestre Hevia (6 April 1867 – 11 January 1944) was a Cuban translator, humanist and writer. Some of her work was published, and at her death she left unpublished translations into Spanish of the works of Homer.

Life

Laura Mestre Hevia was born in Havana on 6 April 1867. She was the daughter of Dr. Antonio Mestre y Domínguez (1834–87), who founded several scientific societies in Cuba and introduced the ideas of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

. Her family was cultured. Unusually for the time, it was accepted that women were equal, entitled to higher education and need not marry. At the age of 18 she and her sister Fidelia published a translation of a French novel, ''La sombra'' by M. A. Gennevraye. She visited Paris and Italy, and was in Florence in 1893, although she later claimed to hate travel. Although she did not have a formal academic career, she studied the programs given by the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, and she learned Latin, Greek, French, English and Italian, and the literature of these languages. After being unjustly denied the position of director of the Colegio Heredia she gave up any attempt to play a role in public life, and dedicated herself to her studies. In her view the art, literature and philosophy of the Greeks included values and qualities that should be included in the education of young people, and should be based on Homer's works. Laura Mestre Hevia died in Havana on 11 January 1944.

Work

Laura Mestre translated

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's poems, the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

and the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

, into Spanish, the first woman to do so, but only fragments were published. She also translated the ''epinikia'' of

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...

, poems by

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

and

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

, and popular songs of modern Greece in her 1929 ''Estudios griegos''. In 1939 she published ''Literatura Moderna. Estudios y narraciones''. When she died she left manuscripts and drafts for four books: ''Naturaleza, Elementos de Dibujo y Pintura'' (''Nature, Elements of Drawing and Painting''), ''Las Disertaciones'', also called ''Morbidezza'', ''Florencia'' and her translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey, with a translation of Cicero's dialogue on friendship, since lost.

Life

Work

Publications

References

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Further reading