Dr. Concha Meléndez (January 21, 1895 – June 26, 1983) was an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

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. She was the first woman to belong to the Puerto Rican Academy of Languages.

Early years

Meléndez was born and raised in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, where she received her

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and

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. After

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from

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

she enrolled at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

where she earned her teacher's certificate. Meléndez taught at the University's high school while she continued to pursue her University studies. In 1924, she received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

and soon after went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she obtained her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1926 from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She returned to Puerto Rico where she became a

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at the University of Puerto Rico.National Register of Historic Places Regi9ster Form
/ref> Meléndez later went to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

where she enrolled in the

National University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

(UNAM). In 1932, she became the first woman in the

history of Mexico The history of Mexico spans over three millennia, with the earliest evidence of hunter-gatherer settlement 13,000 years ago. Central and southern Mexico, known as Mesoamerica, saw the rise of complex civilizations that developed glyphic writing ...

to earn a

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philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

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Professor Emeritus

When she returned to Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico bestowed upon her the title of "Professor Emeritus" in Hispanic-American Literature. She was named director of the

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Studies and Humanities Faculty Department at the University, a position she held between 1940-1959. Meléndez also founded a

tenured Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

chair on Hispanic-American Literature in the University. In 1964, Meléndez acted as

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

at the Middlebury School of Languages in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Concha Meléndez died in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

on June 26, 1983.

Written works

Melendez's works have been compiled into 15 volumes by the Editorial Cultural. Amongst these are: *"''Amado Nervo''", *"''La Inquietud Sosegada: Poética de Evaristo Ribera Chevremont''", *"''Various Hispanic-American Poets''", *"''The Act of Storytelling in Puerto Rico''", *"''Signs from Iberoamerica''", *"''Entrance in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

''", *"''Figuration of Puerto Rico and other studies''", *"'' Jose de Diego in my Memory''", *"''Hispanic-American Literature''", *"''Words for Listeners''", *"''People and Books''", *"''

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

Literature in Puerto Rico''", *"''Poetry in Alfonso Reyes''" and *"''Indian

Novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

in Hispanic-America''".

Honors and distinctions

She was the first woman to belong to the Puerto Rican Academy of Languages. Melendez was awarded many honors and distinctions in Puerto Rico and other countries. Among the awards are: *"''Medal of Literature''" from the Puerto Rican Ateneo *"''The Diploma of Honor''" from the Mexican Academy of Languages *the "''Order of Andres Belloy''" *the "''Award of Honor''" from the Puerto Rican Ateneo

Legacy

A center of the Biblioteca Nacional de Puerto Rico del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña is named after her. It is located in the Casa Dra. Concha Melendez Ramirez, her home from 1940 until her death, which has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Every year the Coalition of Hispanic American Women of

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, selects five high school graduates, who will receive the Elena Mederos/Concha Melendez

Scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

for their outstanding academic records. Puerto Rico has a school in San Juan named after her and in

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there is also a high school named after her.

References

External links

Concha Melendez recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on June 12, 1979
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez, Concha 1895 births 1983 deaths Columbia University alumni National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni People from Caguas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican educators Puerto Rican women educators Puerto Rican academics Puerto Rican women poets University of Puerto Rico faculty 20th-century American poets 20th-century Puerto Rican women writers 20th-century Puerto Rican writers 20th-century American women academics