Nydia Lamarque (1906–1982) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

poet. In addition to publishing several books of poetry, she was a lawyer, activist, and translator. She was associated with the socialism and feminism movements.

Biography

Early life

Lamarque was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was of partial French descent on her father's side. At age 12, she began writing poetry.

Poetry and translation

In 1925, Lamarque published '','' her first book of poetry. In 1927, she published '. In 1930, her third work, ', was published. In 1950, she published ', and in 1951, she published ''.'' She was fluent in French and was known as a "prominent translator of French literature," translating the work of "

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

, Racine, Rimbaud, Henri De Man, Adolfo Boschot, and Héctor Berlioz." In 1948, she published the first translation of Baudelaire in Argentina. NYDIA LAMARQUE II

Law career

Lamarque worked as a defense attorney and was hired by the Red International Association.

Socialism and feminism

Lamarque was involved in Boedo, a "vanguard writers' group," and was a member of Buenos Aires. She was also associated with the Argentinean Communist Party and "concerned erselfwith social problems." She served as president of the Argentine Antiwar Committee and organized the Latin American Antiwar Conference in March 1933. In July 1933, Lamarque published an article in the magazine ''Contra'', in which she argued that "art, as a product and synthesis of social factors, reflects the reality of society" and that "pure art is the decadence of the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

" and defended the "triumphant proletarian art of the U.S.S.R."

Critical reception

In 1925, Jorge Luis Borges wrote positively about Lamarque's work in Spanish, comparing it to Alfonsina Storni's and saying that it had neither "the vagueness nor the gossipy shrillness that this Storni tends to offer us." He dedicated his poetry collection, ''Fervor of Buenos Aires'', to Lemarque. In ''Literatura Argentina Contemporanea'', literary critic Juan Pinto referred to Lamarque as "the poetess with the most masculine voice of our literature."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamarque, Nydia 1906 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Argentine poets Argentine communists Argentine activists Argentine women activists Argentine feminists Argentine translators Writers from Buenos Aires Argentine people of French descent Socialist feminists 20th-century translators Spanish-language poets