Vidaluz Meneses Robleto (28 May 1944 – 27 July 2016) was a

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

n librarian, poet, dean, and social activist.

Biography

Vidaluz Meneses Robleto was the daughter of Vida Robleto Valle and General Edmundo Meneses Cantarero. She attended the Colegio La Asunción for studies, and joined the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

in 1977. She held a bachelor's degree in humanities with a minor in library science from

Central American University José Simeón Cañas Central American University ( es, Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas"), also known as UCA El Salvador, is a private university with nonprofit purposes in San Salvador, El Salvador, run by the Society of Jesus. ...

, and became a dean of its Faculty of Arts and Letters. She was co-founder of the Nicaraguan Association of Writers (ANIDE) and its first president. She also chaired its board at various times, the last from 2007 to 2009. She was director of the Nicaraguan chapter of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

. Along with

Gioconda Belli Gioconda Belli (born December 9, 1948 in Managua, Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan author, novelist and poet. Early life Gioconda Belli grew up in a wealthy family in Managua. Her father is Humberto Belli Zapata and her brother is Humbe ...

and , Meneses is considered to be one of the most prominent Nicaraguan poets of the 1970s. In 2013 she won the International Latino Book Award for her bilingual poetry book ''Flame in the Air (Llama guardada)'', and in 2014 she received the Order of Chevalier of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

of France for her contribution to arts and letters. Her work, which was translated into six languages, also includes ''Llama en el Aire – Antología poética 1974 al 1990'' (1991), ''Literatura para niños en Nicaragua'' (1995), the poetry book ''Todo es igual y distinto'' (2004), and the anthologies ''Sonreír cuando los ojos están serios'' and ''La lucha es el más alto de los cantos'', both in 2006. Vidaluz Meneses Robleto died on 27 July 2016 at the age of 72.

Books

*1974 – ''Llama guardada'' *1982 – ''El Aire que me llama'' *1991 – ''Llama en el Aire – Antología poética 1974 al 1990'' *1995 – ''Literatura para niños en Nicaragua'' *2005 – ''Todo es igual y distinto'' *2006 – ''Sonreír cuando los ojos están serios'' *2006 – ''La lucha es el más alto de los cantos'' *2013 – ''Flame in the Air (Llama guardada)''

Awards

* 2013 – International Latino Book Award * 2014 – Chevalier of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meneses, Vidaluz 1944 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Nicaraguan poets 21st-century Nicaraguan poets Knights of the Legion of Honour Hispanic and Latino American librarians Nicaraguan activists Nicaraguan women activists Nicaraguan women poets People from Managua American women librarians American librarians 20th-century Nicaraguan women writers 21st-century Nicaraguan women writers Central American University (Managua) alumni 21st-century American women