Juan García Ponce (22 September 1932 – 27 December 2003) was a Mexican novelist, short-story writer, essayist, translator and critic of

Mexican art Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the New Spain, colonial period, with the per ...

Career

García Ponce was born in

Mérida, Yucatán Mérida (, ) is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the Mérida Municipality, eponymous municipality. It is located slightly inland fro ...

, Mexico. His most notable works include ''La aparición de lo invisible'' (1968) and ''Las huellas de la voz'' (1982). In his novels ''Figura de paja'' (1964), ''La casa en la playa'' (1966), ''La presencia lejana'' (1968), ''La cabaña'' (1969), ''La invitación'' (1972), ''El nombre olvidado'' (1970), ''El libro'' (1978), ''Crónica de la intervención'' (1982), ''Inmaculada o los placeres de la Inocencia'' (1989) he intertwines the erotic with philosophic rigor and the aesthetic, illuminating the secret, demonic side of reality, accepting all of its risks. He formed an important part of the Generación de Medio Siglo, or the Generación de la Ruptura, along with writers such as

Salvador Elizondo Salvador Elizondo Alcalde (December 19, 1932, in Mexico City – 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 ...

, Inés Arredondo,

Sergio Pitol Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (18 March 1933 – 12 April 2018) was a Mexican writer, translator and diplomat. In 2005, he received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world. Early life Born in Puebla, Me ...

and

Elena Poniatowska Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska (), is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on ...

, and artists and painters such as Manuel Felguerez, Vicente Rojo Almazán,

José Luis Cuevas José Luis Cuevas (February 26, 1934 – July 3, 2017) was a Mexican artist, he often worked as a painter, writer, draftsman, engraver, illustrator, and printmaker. Cuevas was one of the first to challenge the then dominant Mexican muralism ...

Roger von Gunten Roger von Gunten (born 29 March 1933) is a Swiss-born Mexican artist and sculptor. He was the subject of a 1978 essay by Jomí García Ascot and was part of the '' Breakaway Generation'' which emerged after World War II ending the Mexican Murali ...

, and

Fernando García Ponce Fernando Garcia Ponce (1933–1987) was a Mexicans, Mexican architect and abstract artist who belonged to the Generación de la Ruptura. García Ponce is best known for his abstract paintings and collages, most of which utilize structured and geom ...

. He is credited for introducing authors such as

Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (), is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels. Family M ...

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

Pierre Klossowski Pierre Klossowski (; ; 9 August 1905 – 12 August 2001) was a French writer, translator and artist. He was the eldest son of the artists Erich Klossowski and Baladine Klossowska, and his younger brother was the painter Balthus. Life Born in ...

and

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

to the Mexican public. He received various prestigious prizes including the Premio Teatral Ciudad de México (1956), the

Xavier Villaurrutia Award 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. Its jury is composed of pre ...

(1972) for his novel ''Encuentros'', the Elías Sourasky Prize (1974), the Premio Anagrama de Ensayo (1981), the Premio de la Crítica (1985), the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in Linguistics and Literature (1989), the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages (then known as the Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature) (2001) and the Medalla Eligio Ancona. In 2007 the journal ''

Nexos ''Nexos'' is a cultural and political magazine based in Mexico City, Mexico. History and profile ''Nexos'' was founded in 1978. The founders were a group of Intellectuals headed by Héctor Aguilar Camín. The magazine modeled on the ''New York Re ...

'' asked various writers and literary critics to select the greatest Mexican novels of the past 30 years. Juan García Ponce's novel ''Crónica de la intervención'' came in third place. García Ponce died on 27 December 2003 in his house in Mexico City, aged 71. The cause was

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

derived from

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

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. Its jury is composed of pre ...

(1972) * de Ensayo (1981) * Juan Rulfo Prize (2001)

References

Bibliography

* Rodríguez-Hernández, Raúl: ''Mexico's Ruins: Juan García Ponce and the Writing of Modernity.'' State University of New York Press, 2007. 1932 births 2003 deaths Mexican male novelists Mexican male short story writers Mexican male essayists Writers from Yucatán (state) People from Mérida, Yucatán 20th-century Mexican novelists 20th-century Mexican short story writers 20th-century Mexican essayists 20th-century Mexican male writers Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners {{mexico-writer-stub