Salvador Elizondo Alcalde (

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 ...

, December 19, 1932 - March 29, 2006) was a Mexican writer of the 60s Generation of Mexican literature. Regarded as one of the creators of the most influential cult noirè, experimental, intelligent style literature in Latin America, he wrote as a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

, poet, critic,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. His most famous novels are ''Farabeuf'' (1965) and ''El hipogeo Secreto'' (1968). He is also known for ''El grafógrafo'' (1972) which is a series of short texts based on linguistic abbreviatory experimentation. ''Farabeuf'' (tr. John Incledon) was published in English b
Ox & Pigeon
in 2015. His style is considered innovative among Mexican contemporary literature for introducing a cosmopolitan view of language and narrative, bringing elements from external literary currents and languages to a refined dialogue of thought and communication. His technique is considered rather unrealistic and proto-fictional, as opposed to

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

. Some critics have highlighted his literary works as postmodern literature since it challenges fiction through autofiction, metafiction, metalepsis, and by intertwining possible fictional worlds. His works are associated with writers such as

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine, nationalized French novelist, short story writer, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenced an ...

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo ( ; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and th ...

and

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels ...

. He was also a professor at

UNAM 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 bigge ...

for 25 years (mentor of writers such as Pablo Soler Frost) and received many international grants, such as the Guggenheim and Rockefeller, and was the recipient of the 1990 national prize of literature. Elizondo died in Mexico City on March 29, 2006, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. His funeral was held at the palacio de Bellas Artes.

Works

*''Poemas'', 1960 *''Luchino Visconti'' (críticism), 1963 *''Farabeuf o la crónica de un instante'' (novela), 1965 *''Narda o el verano'', 1966 *''Autobiografía'', 1966 *''El hipogeo secreto'' (novela) 1968 *''Cuaderno de escritura'' (críticism), 1969 *''El retrato de Zoe'', 1969 *''El grafógrafo'', 1972 *''Contextos'' (critical articles), 1973 *''Museo poético'' (anthology of modern Mexican poetry), 1974 *''Antología personal'', 1974 *''Miscast'' (A comedy in three Acts), 1981 *''Camera lucida'', México, 1983 *''La luz que regresa'', 1984 *''Elsinore: un cuaderno'', 1988 *''Estanquillo (textos)'', 1992 *''Teoría del infierno'', 1993 *''Pasado Anterior'' 2007

Selected filmography

* '' The Hypnotist'' (1940) * ''

Tender Pumpkins ''Tender Pumpkins'' or ''Tender Little Pumpkins'' (Spanish: ''Calabacitas tiernas'') is a 1949 Mexican comedy film directed by Gilberto Martínez Solares and starring Germán Valdés, Rosita Quintana and Nelly Montiel.Mora, pg. 84 This film mark ...

'' (1949) * ''

Philip of Jesus Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús) was a Novohispanic Franciscan Catholic missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of Mexico City.Ronald J. Morgan, ''Spanish American ...

'' (1949) * '' Seven Women'' (1953) * ''

The Three Elenas ''The Three Elenas'' (Spanish: ''Las tres Elenas'') is a 1954 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Gómez Muriel and starring Amelia Bence, Manolo Fábregas, and Domingo Soler.Riera p.119 The film's sets were designed by the art director Manuel ...

'' (1954) * ''

Back to the Door ''Back to the Door'' (Spanish: ''De espaldas a la puerta'') is a 1959 Spanish crime film directed by José María Forqué and starring Emma Penella, Amelia Bence and Luis Prendes.de España, Rafael. ''Directory of Spanish and Portuguese Film-Make ...

'' (1959) * ''

My Mother Is Guilty ''My Mother Is Guilty'' (Spanish: ''Mi madre es culpable'') is a 1960 Mexican drama film directed by Julián Soler and starring Marga López, Carlos Baena and Domingo Soler.Riera p.59 The film's sets were designed by Jesús Bracho. Cast * ...

'' (1960)

Awards

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 ...

(1965)

References

External links

Articles and stories by Salvador Elizondo in ''Letras Libres'' magazine (Spanish)

a film from Gerardo Villegas, about life and works Salvador Elizondo *A comprehensive study on ''El hipogeo secreto'' regarding intertwined fictional possible worlds, metafiction, and autofiction is developed by Gerardo Cruz-Grunerth in
Mundos (casi) imposibles. Narrativa postmoderna mexicana
' (2018, in Spanish)''.'' 1932 births 2006 deaths Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Writers from Mexico City Deaths from cancer in Mexico Mexican translators 20th-century translators {{Mexico-translator-stub Poets from Mexico City