Enrique Amorim (July 25, 1900 – July 28, 1960) was an

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

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 to ...

and writer, best known for his story ''Las quitanderas'' whose plot centers on rural

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

; also known for his

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political%20ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically in ...

Biography

Enrique Amorim was born in

Salto, Uruguay Salto () is the capital city of the Salto Department in northwestern Uruguay. As of the 2011 census it had a population of 104,028 and is the third most populated city in Uruguay, after Montevideo and Ciudad de la Costa. Location and geography Th ...

to parents who were wealthy cattle ranchers. His father was from a Portuguese background, his mother

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

. Amorim travelled extensively in Europe and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, developing acquaintanceships and friendships with many of the leading literary figures of his time. He eventually had a house built in Salto, designed by Le Corbusier. In the 1920s Amorim wrote for the Argentina, Argentine leftist magazine ''Los Pensadores'' and published with the press Claridad, both associated with the left-leaning Buenos Aires-based Boedo group. In 1947 Amorim officially joined the Communist Party of Uruguay. He was also responsible for the erection of a monument in Salto to commemorate Federico García Lorca, the poet and playwright killed by Francisco Franco's forces in the opening weeks of the Spanish Civil War. He is mentioned in Borges' story "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius".

Works

Novels

* ''La carreta'' (1929) * ''El paisano Aguilar'' (1934) * ''La edad despareja'' (1938) * ''El caballo y su sombra'' (1941) (English translation ''The Horse and His Shadow'' (Scribner 1943)) * ''La luna se hizo con agua'' (1944) * ''El asesino desvelado'' (1946) * ''Feria de farsantes'' (1952) * ''Eva Burgos'' (1960)

Books of short stories

* ''Amorim'' (1923) * ''Horizontes y bocacalles'' (1926) * ''Tráfico'' (1927) * ''La trampa del pajonal'' (1928) * ''Del 1 al 6'' (1932) * ''La plaza de las carretas'' (1937) * ''Después del temporal'' (1953)

Books of poems

* ''Veinte años'' (1920) * ''Visitas al cielo'' (1929) * ''Poemas uruguayos'' (1935) * ''Dos poemas'' (1940) * ''Primero de Mayo'' (1949) * ''Quiero'' (1954) * ''Sonetos de amor en verano'' (1958)

Plays

* ''La segunda sangre'' (1950) * ''Don Juan 38'' (1958)

References

* K.E.A. Mose ''Enrique Amorim: The Passion of a Uruguayan'' (Madrid :Plaza Mayor, 1973) * Alvaro Miranda ''Enrique Amorim // Enfoques críticos sobre Enrique Amorim'' (Montevideo: Editores Asociados, 1990) * Leonardo Garet ''La pasión creadora de Enrique Amorim'' (Montevideo: Editores Asociados, 1990)

External links

* Much of the information in this article comes from http://www.todo-argentina.net/Literatura_argentina/Biografias_de_literatura/enrique_amorim.htm.
Biographical notes on Amorim and other famous natives of Salto

IMDB filmography

F. Scott Helwig "Narrative Techniques in the Novels of Enrique Amorim" (dissertation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amorim, Enrique 1900 births 1960 deaths People from Salto, Uruguay Uruguayan Marxist writers Uruguayan people of Portuguese descent Uruguayan communists Uruguayan dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights Uruguayan novelists Male novelists Uruguayan male short story writers Uruguayan short story writers 20th-century novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century short story writers