Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (August 3, 1932 - February 7, 2009) was a Mexican poet and painter. Montes de Oca was a prolific and influential poet whose principal books include: ''Ruina de la infame Babilonia'' (1953), and ''Delante de la luz cantan los pájaros'' (1959), which won the

Xavier Villaurrutia Prize 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 ...

. He also wrote a self-titled

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

in 1967, and a book of short stories ''Las fuentes legendarias'' (1966), and also dedicated a lot of time to painting and sculpturing. Some of Montes de Oca's poetry was translated into English by Laura Villaseñor,The heart of the flute / Marco Antonio Montes de Oca ; translated by Laura Villaseñor ; introd. by Octavio Paz.
/ref> including the books: ''The heart of the flute'' in 1978 (with an introduction by

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

), and ''Twenty-One Poems'' in 1982. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Mexico City on February 7, 2009.

Works

Poetry * Ruina de la infame Babilonia (Stylo, 1953) * Contrapunto de la fe (Los Presentes, 1955) * Pliego de testimonios (Metáfora, 1956) * Delante de la luz cantan los pájaros (FCE, Letras Mexicanas, 1959) * Cantos al sol que no se alcanza (FCE, 1961) * Fundación del entusiasmo (UNAM, Poemas y Ensayos, 1963) * La parcela en el edén (Pájaro Cascabel, 1964) * Vendimia del juglar (Joaquín Mortiz, Las Dos Orillas, 1965) * Pedir el fuego (Joaquín Mortiz, 1968) * Lugares donde el espacio cicatriza (Joaquín Mortiz, Las Dos Orillas, 1974) * Se llama como quieras (UNAM, Poemas y Ensayos, 1974) * Las constelaciones secretas (FCE, 1976) * En honor de las palabras (Joaquín Mortiz, 1979) * Migraciones y vísperas (Oasis, 1983) * Cuenta nueva y otros poemas (Martín Casillas, 1983) * Tablero de orientaciones (Premiá, 1984) * Vaivén (Joaquín Mortiz, 1986) * Altanoche (SEP, Lecturas Mexicanas, 1986) * Vocación tras la ventana (bilingüe) (Centro de Estudios Universitarios Londres, 1998) Short Stories * Las fuentes legendarias (Joaquín Mortiz, 1966) Memoir * Marco Antonio Montes de Oca (Empresas Editoriales, 1967) Anthologies * Poesía reunida (1953–1970) (FCE, Letras Mexicanas, 1971) * El surco y la brasa (FCE, Letras Mexicanas, 1974) Traducciones, en colaboración con Ana Luisa Vega. * Poesía, crimen y prisión (Secretaría de Gobernación, 1975) * Comparecencias (poesía 1968–1980) (Seix Barral, 1980) * Pedir el fuego (antología 1953–1991) (Joaquín Mortiz/CONACULTA, 1992) * Delante de la luz cantan los pájaros (Poesía 1953-2000) (FCE, Letras Mexicanas, 2000)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montes de Oca, Marco Antonio 1932 births 2009 deaths Writers from Mexico City Mexican male poets 20th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 20th-century Mexican poets 20th-century Mexican male writers 20th-century Mexican male artists