Mariano Federico Picón Salas was a
Venezuelan
Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...
diplomatic,
cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...
and
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
of the 20th century,
born in
Mérida (
Mérida State) on January 26, 1901, and died in
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
on January 1, 1965.
Career
Among his books, his collection of essays on history, literary criticism and cultural history are remarkable. He travelled a lot through the Americas. His work is also important because of his wide perspective, studying the culture of the entire continent. He left Venezuela, under the political persecution of dictator
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions d ...
. Living for a large period in Chile, he studied history, gaining the degree of “Profesor de Historia” and later a doctorate in philosophy and letters.
He came back to Venezuela in 1936, working as a professor and author. He founded the ''Asociación de Escritores de Venezuela'' (Writers Association from Venezuela), and worked for the Ministry of Education.
His studies on "Barroco de Indias" (the term that he coined to talk about the baroque from Hispanic America) are very influential among the general study of
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
.
He received the
National Prize for Literature in 1954.
He taught at
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 ...
, New York.
Personal life
He was twice married, first to a Chilean lady, Isabel Cento, with whom he had his only daughter, named Delia Isabel Picón de Morles. He later married Venezuelan Beatriz Otáñez.
Works
*''Las nuevas corrientes de arte'' (1917)
*''Buscando el camino'' (1920)
*''Mundo imaginario'' (1927)
*''Hispanoamérica: posición crítica, literatura y actitud americana: sentido americano del disparate y sitio de una generación'' (1931)
*''Registro de huéspedes'' (1934)
*''Intuición de Chile y otros ensayos en busca de una conciencia histórica'' (1935)
*''Preguntas a Europa'' (1938)
*''Cinco discursos sobre pasado y presente de la nación venezolana'' (1940)
*''Odisea de Tierra Firme: relatos de Venezuela'' (1940)
*''Un viaje y seis retratos'' (1940)
*''Formación y proceso de la literatura venezolana'' (1940)
*''Viaje al amanecer'' (1943)
*''De la Conquista a la Independencia'' (México, 1944)
*''Biografía de Francisco de Miranda'' (1946)
*''Formación y Proceso de la Literatura Venezolana'' (1947)
*''Comprensión de Venezuela'' (1949)
*''Pedro Claver, el Santo de los Esclavos'' (1950)
*''Dependencia e Independencia en la Historia hispanoamericana'' (1952)
*''Los días de Cipriano Castro'' (1953)
*''Crisis, cambio, tradición'' (1955)
*''Regreso de tres mundos: un hombre en su generación'' (1959)
*''Los Malos salvajes. Civilización y política contemporáneas'' (1962)
*''Art Latino-Américain à Paris'' (1962)
*''Hora y Deshora. Temas humanísticos; nombres y figuras, viajes y lugares'' (1963)
*''Tres sonetos del desengaño'' (1965)
*''Prólogo al Instituto Nacional de Cultural'' (posthumous) (1965)
See also
*
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
*
Venezuelan literature
Venezuelan literature is the literature written by Venezuelans or in Venezuela, ranging from Indigenous peoples in Venezuela, indigenous Pre-Columbian, pre-Hispanic myths to Oral literature, oral or written works in Spanish language, Spanish or oth ...
References
External links
*
Mariano Picón Salas biography
*
Mariano Picón Salas website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picon Salas, Mariano
1901 births
1965 deaths
Venezuelan novelists
Venezuelan male novelists
People from Mérida, Mérida
Academic staff of the Central University of Venezuela
20th-century Venezuelan novelists
20th-century Venezuelan male writers
Columbia University faculty
Rómulo Betancourt ministers