Alfredo Cardona Peña (11 August 1917 – 31 January 1995 ) was a celebrated journalist, writer, biographer poet and essayist born in San José,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. Cardona Peña lived and wrote for most of his career in Mexico, where he worked in comics for the publisher Novaro, and became "a singular figure in the history of Mexican science fiction."

Career

Cardona began publishing short stories in 1944 in various genres from

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

to horror and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, known for a style of humor and sharp irony. Best known for his poetry, he received awards in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and in the US. In 1945, he became a teacher of Spanish Language Literature at the National University of Mexico. From 1969 through 1980 he served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the comic-books section of the celebrated Novaro Publishing House.

Published works

* ''El mundo que tú eres'' (México, 1944) * ''Valle de México'' (México, 1949) * ''Poemas numerales'' (Guatemala, 1950) * ''Bodas de tierra y mar'' (México, 1950), ''Los jardines amantes'' (México, 1952) * ''Primer paraíso'' (México, 1955) * ''Poema nuevo'' (México, 1955) * ''Poesía de pie'' (México, 1959) * ''Mínimo estar'' (México, 1959) * ''Oración futura'' (México, 1959) * ''Poema de la juventud'' (México, 1960) * ''Poema del retorno'' (México, 1960) * ''Lectura de mi noche'' (San José, 1963) * ''Cosecha mayor: 1944-1964'' (San José, 1964) * ''Confín de llamas'' (México, 1969) * ''Asamblea plenaria'' (México, 1976) * ''Anillos en el tiempo'' (San José, 1980) * ''Viñetas terminales'' (México, 1987) * ''Conversations with Diego Rivera: The Monster in His Labyrinth'' translated by Alvaro Cardona-Hine (United States, New Village Press, 2018)

Awards

* National Poetry Award (1962). * Central American Poetry Award in Guatemala (1948). * Continental Poetry Award from the American Atheneum of Washington (1951). * National Prize for Poetry in Costa Rica (1961). * Magón Culture Award (1985), the highest honor given in Costa Rica for lifetime achievement. * Alfonso Reyes Award for Short Story (1983). * A posthumous tribute at the fourth National Convention of the Mexican Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1996).

References

1917 births 1995 deaths Costa Rican science fiction writers Writers from San José, Costa Rica Mexican science fiction writers Mexican comics writers Costa Rican emigrants to Mexico {{Sf-writer-stub