Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano (September 28, 1938 – February 18, 2016) was a Puerto Rican writer, poet, and essayist.
Her father,

Luis A. Ferré Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 October 21, 2003) was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the ...

, was the third elected

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

and the founding father of the

New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico The New Progressive Party (, PNP) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates for statehood.Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970 during her father's term as governor, Rosario fulfilled the duties of First Lady until 1972. She was the recipient of the "Liberatur Prix" award from the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

for "Kristallzucker", the German translation of "Maldito Amor".University of the Sacred Heart, News: Pasión y sentidos se cruzan en Las puertas del placer de Rosario Ferré.

Early years

Rosario Ferré (birth name: Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano) was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, into one of

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 ...

's wealthiest families. Her parents were the former First Family of Puerto Rico

(Governor) and Lorenza Ramírez de ArellanoEnsayistas.org, Rosario Ferré.
Retrieved January 6, 2007. She was the niece of the late Sor Isolina Ferré, recipient of the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

. Ferré received her primary education at Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 1951, she was sent to Wellesley, Massachusetts and attended Dana Hall School.

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

br>Conference, Women Who Will: A Celebration of Wellesley College Alumnae and Their Life Paths
, Person of the Week, Week of May 28, 2001: Rosario Ferré, '60. Ferré began writing professionally at age 14, publishing articles in Puerto Rico's

El Nuevo Día ''El Nuevo Día'' (English: ''The New Day'') is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Puerto Rico. It is considered mainstream and the territory's newspaper of record. It was founded in 1909 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and today it is a subsi ...

newspaper. In her youth, Ferré was an advocate of independence, despite the fact that her father was pro-statehood (and, later, she too became an advocate of statehood.) Upon graduating from high school she went to the United States where she gained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and FrenchSolo Literatura.com, Rosario Ferré.
from

Manhattanville College Manhattanville University is a private university in Purchase, New York, United States. Founded in 1841 as a school at 412 Houston Street in Lower Manhattan, it was initially known as the "Academy of the Sacred Heart". In 1917, the academy recei ...

. She was a member of Mu Alpha Phi

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

. Ferré returned to Puerto Rico where in the 1970s she enrolled in 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 ...

to study for her master's degree. During her time as a student, Ferré began her writing career as the founder, editor and publisher of the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

"Zona de Carga y Descarga" along with her cousin, Olga Nolla.Voices from the Gaps: Women Artists and Writers of Color, Rosario Ferré.
/ref> The Journal was also published along with the poet Luis Cesar Rivera. In “Zona de Carga y Descarga”, Ferré published some of her own poetry along with short stories. The journal was devoted to publishing the works of new writers and to promoting the ideas of the independence movement. The journal ran for 9 issues, the first being published in 1972, and the last being published in 1975. Among the novelists and short story writers of Puerto Rico to share Ferré's commitment to satire were Ana Lydia Vega and

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

. Ferré also published poems and wrote a biography of her father. Upon earning her master's degree, Ferré enrolled in the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where she graduated with a PhD in

Latin American Literature Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America. Latin American literature rose to particular pro ...

. Her doctoral thesis was titled: "La filiación romántica de los cuentos de

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine and naturalised French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenc ...

" (''The romantic link between the stories of Julio Cortázar'').

Career

Ferré began her literary career writing in Spanish. In 1976, Ferré published her first collection of short stories, "Papeles de Pandora." In 1977, she published a collection of her literary essays entitled "Sitio a Eros", which promoted political and social themes. In 1986, she published her first book, "Maldito Amor", which she self-translated into English as "Sweet Diamond Dust." After publishing "Maldito Amor", she began to write the first versions of her other books in English In 2002, she published a bilingual edition of poems "Language Duel/Duelo del language." In order to write her novel, ''Memorias de Ponce. Autobiografía de Luis A. Ferré'', she transcribed audio left by her father describing his childhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ferré worked as a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico and was a contributing editor for The San Juan Star, which was once Puerto Rico's English language newspaper. Ferré has also been a visiting professor at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Honors

Ferré won the first prize in a short story contest of the

Ateneo Puertorriqueño The Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) is a cultural institution in Puerto Rico. Founded on April 30, 1876, it has been called Puerto Rico's oldest cultural institution, however, it is actually its third oldest overall and second c ...

in 1974. In 1992, she was the recipient of the "Liberatur Prix" award from the

for "Kristallzucker", the German translation of "Maldito Amor". In 1997, she was also awarded an honorary doctorate from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. Ferré was a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

recipient in 2004. She is also recognized at Ponce's Tricentennial Park for her contributions in the field of literature.

Personal

Upon finishing school, Ferré married Benigno Trigo González, a businessman, by whom she has three children: Rosario Lorenza, Benigno, and Luis Alfredo. They divorced ten years later. While studying at the Department for Hispanic Studies of the

, she met her second husband, Jorge Aguilar Mora, a writer and Professor of

Mexican literature Mexican literature stands as one of the most prolific and influential within Spanish-language literary traditions, alongside those of Spain and Argentina. This rich and diverse tradition spans centuries, encompassing a wide array of genres, ...

; they divorced after a few years. Ferré met her third husband, Agustín Costa Quintana, a Puerto Rican architect, while living in Washington, D.C. They later moved to Puerto Rico, where they resided. Ferré died of natural causes, surrounded by family on February 18, 2016, in her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Written works

Some of Ferré's works are:

Fiction

*"Flight of the Swan / El Vuelo del Cisne", 2001; Spanish version: "El Vuelo del Cisne", 2002 *"La extraña muerte del Capitancito Candelario", 2002. *"Eccentric Neighborhoods / Vecindarios excentricos",1998; Spanish version: "Vecindarios excéntricos", 1999 *"The House on the Lagoon", 1995; Spanish version: "La casa de la laguna", 1997 *"La Batalla de Las Vírgenes", 1994 *"The Youngest Doll", 1991 (an English version of " La muñeca menor") *"Sonatinas. Cuentos de niños", 1991 *"Maldito Amor", 1985; English version: "Sweet Diamond Dust and Other Stories",1989 *"El Medio Pollito", 1981 *" Los Cuentos de Juan Bobo", 1981 *" La muñeca menor", 1976

Essays

*"Las Puertas del Placer", 2005 *"A la sombra de tu nombre" (The Shadow of Your Name) Published by Alfaguara; 2001 *"Destiny, Language, and Translation; or, Ophelia Adrift in the C & O Canal." In The "Youngest Doll"; By Ferré. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1991. 153–165. *"El Coloquio de las Perras" Published by Editorial Cultural, 1991 *"Cortázar: El Romántico en su Observatorio"; Puerto Rico; Editorial Cultura, 1991 *"El Arbol y sus Sombras (The tree and its shadows)"; Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1990 *"La autenticidad de la mujer en el arte" *"El Acomodador: una lectura fantastica de Felisberto Hernandez (The Accommodator: a fantastic lecture by Felisberto Hernandez)", 1986 *"Sitio a Eros: Quince ensayos literarios", 1986 *"La cocina de la escritura." In Literatures in Transition: The Many Voices of the Caribbean Area. Ed. Rose S. Minc. Gaithersburg: Hispamérica/Las Américas, 1982. 37–51. *"Sitio a Eros"; Trece ensayos literarios, 1980

Poetry

* "Fisuras", 2006 *"Language Duel/Duelo del Lenguaje", 2003 * "Antología Personal"; 1992–1976, 1994 Library of Congress Online Catalog, Antología Personal.
/ref> *"Fabulas de la Garza Desangrada", 1982 *"Las dos Venecias"; Poemas y cuentos, 1992

Biographies

*''Memorias de Ponce; Biografía de Don

''; Published by Editorial Norma, 1992

Critical studies of Ferré's work

* Acosta Cruz, María I. "Historia, ser e identidad femenina en 'El collar de camándulas' y 'Maldito amor' de Rosario Ferré." Chasqui 22.2 (1993): 23–31. * Acosta Cruz, María I."Historia y escritura femenina en Olga Nolla, Magali García Ramis, Rosario Ferré y Ana Lydia Vega." ''Revista Iberoamericana'' 59 (1993): 265–277. * Allatson, Paul. "Rosario Ferré's Trans-'American' Fantasy, or Subalternizing the Self," in Latino Dreams: Transcultural Traffic and the U.S. National Imaginary. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2002, 59–108. * Alvarado Sierra, Melissa. "La narrativa activista de Rosario Ferré: feminismo e identidad." Madrid: McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España, S.L., 2020. * Apter-Cragnolino, Aída. “De sitios y asedios: la escritura de Rosario Ferré.” ''

Revista Chilena de Literatura ''Revista Chilena de Literatura'' is an academic journal about literature published by the University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 184 ...

'' 42 (1993): 25–30. * Bustos Fernández, María José. “Subversión de la autoridad narrativa en Maldito amor de Rosario Ferré.” Chasqui 23.1 (1994): 22–29. * Cavallo, Susana. “Llevando la contraria: el contracanto de Rosario Ferré.” Monographic Review-Revista Monográfica 8 (1992): 197–204. * Filer, Malva E. “Polifonía y contrapunto: la crónica histórica en ‘Maldito amor,’ y The House on the Lagoon.” ''Revista Hispánica Moderna'' 49.2 (1996): 318–328. *Garrigós, Cristina. "Bilingües, biculturales y posmodernas: Rosario Ferré y

,", Insula. ''Revista de Ciencias y Letras'', 2002 JUL-AGO; LVII (667–668). * Gazarian Gautier. "Rosario Ferré." Interviews with Latin American Writers. Elmwood Park, IL: Dalkey Archive Press, 1989. 81–92. * Gould Levine, Linda y Gloria Feiman Waldman. "No más máscaras: Un diálogo entre tres escritoras del Caribe: Belkis Cuza Malé – Cuba, Matilde Daviú – Venezuela, Rosario Ferré – Puerto Rico." Literatures in Transition: The Many Voices of the Caribbean Area: A Symposium. Ed. Rose S. Minc. Gathersburg: Hispamérica, 1982. 189–197. * Heinrich, María Elena. "Entrevista a Rosario Ferré." Prismal/Cabral 7–8 (1982): 98–103. * Hintz, Suzanne S. Rosario Ferré, A Search for Identity. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1995. * Jaffe, Janice A. “Translation and Prostitution: Rosario Ferré’s Maldito Amor and Sweet Diamond Dust.” Latin American Literary Review 23.46 (1995): 66–82. * Mullen, Edward. “Interpreting Puerto Rico’s Cultural Myths: Rosario Ferré and Manuel Ramos Otero." Americas Review 17 (1989): 88–97. * Pérez Marín, Carmen I. "De la épica a la novela: la recuperación de la voz en Maldito amor de Rosario Ferré.” Letras Femeninas 20.1–2 (1994): 35–43. * Skinner, Lee. “Pandora’s Log: Charting the Evolving Literary Project of Rosario Ferré.” Revista de Estudios Hispánicos 29 (1995): 461–475. * Vega Carney, Carmen. “El amor como discurso político en Ana Lydia Vega y Rosario Ferré.” Letras Femeninas 22.1–2 (1991): 77–87. * Zapata, Miguel Angel. "Rosario Ferré: La poesía de narrar." Inti 26–27 (1987–1988): 133–140.

Notes

References

External links

Dana Hall School
* Sin Pelos en la Lengua: Entrevista a Rosario Ferr�

* Ferré, Rosario, and Archive Of Hispanic Literature On Tape. ''Puerto Rican writer Rosario Ferré reading from her prose and poetry.'' 1982. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/93842392/
Rosario Ferré papers
at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, New York {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferre, Rosario 1938 births 2016 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery First ladies and gentlemen of Puerto Rico Manhattanville University alumni Poets from Ponce Puerto Rican women writers University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Puerto Rico faculty Wellesley College alumni 20th-century Puerto Rican writers Dana Hall School alumni American women academics Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican women poets