Salomón de la Selva (March 20, 1893 – February 5, 1959) was a

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

n poet and honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language.

Biography

Salomón de la Selva was born on March 20, 1893, in León,

, son of Salomón Selva Glenton and Evangelina Escoto Baca and the oldest of nine children. In 1906 at the age of twelve, he is offered a scholarship by the government of

José Santos Zelaya José Santos Zelaya López (1 November 1853 – 17 May 1919) was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909. He was liberal. In 1909, Zelaya was ousted from office in a rebellion led by conservative Juan José Estrada w ...

to study in the United States. Salomón de la Selva first took up his secondary studies at th
Newton Collegiate Institution
in Newton, New Jersey and later a
Westerleigh Collegiate Institute
in Staten Island, New York, studying in the United States until 1910. To cover costs, de la Selva found himself selling newspapers and shoeshining in Central Park in New York City. After his father's passing on February 2, 1910, Salomón de la Selva returns to Nicaragua and begins studying law at Universidad de León. The history of his pursuits in higher education is unclear, but there are records of de la Selva having taken classes at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

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 ...

between 1913 and 1915. Around this time he worked for the Spanish-language weekly ''Las Novedades''. He received the title of bachelor in science and letters from the University of Leon in León, Nicaragua. He was later employed at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, from 1916 to 1917 as a romance language instructor in Spanish and in French.de la Selva, Salomon. General Biographical Files collection, . Williams College Archives & Special Collections. http://archivesspace.williams.edu:8081/repositories/2/archival_objects/73186Accessed July 23, 2018. By winter 1914-15 he met

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (18 January 1867 – 6 February 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

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 ...

and accompanied him to a conference offered at

on February 4, 1915.Mejía Sánchez, Ernesto (1980). ''Acroasis del "Acolmixtli Nezahualcóyotl,"'' Biblioteca Enciclopédica del Estado de México, Mexico. In New York, 1918, he published his first book of poetry: ''Tropical Town and Other Poems'' which was written in English. He frequented the literary circles of young New York poets with figures such as

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

and

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyric poetry, lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted Feminism, feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. ...

with whom it was said he had a love affair. From 1917 to 1918, de la Selva served as a soldier in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

serving the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces, enlisting in the U.S. army on June 5, 1917. He was able to draw from his experiences on the battlefield to inspire future works, specifically ''El soldado desconocido'' (''The Unknown Soldier''), written in Spanish and illustrated by

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

, which was published in Mexico in 1922. Around this time in 1922 he was also romantically involved with American author

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, poet, and political activist. Her 1962 novel '' Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in the United States that y ...

. He associated himself with the American

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

and became secretary to labor union leader

Samuel Gompers Samuel Gompers (; January 27, 1850December 11, 1924) was a British-born American cigar maker, labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as the organization's ...

. Between 1925 and 1929 he lived in Nicaragua and dedicated himself to the local

syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...

activism of laborioust tendency. He urged the affiliation of the Nicaraguan Worker's Federation (''Federación Obrera Nicaragüense'') to the Panamerican Worker's Central (''Central Obrera Panamericana''), which was affiliated to the

American Federation of Labor The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

.Molina Jiménez, Iván (1999)
"Salomón de la Selva, ¿sandinista?,"
''El nuevo diario'', Managua, Nicaragua: April 17, 1999. In this time, he married Carmela Castrillo and had two children, Carmelita de la Selva Castrillo (1925–1931) and Salomón de la Selva Castrillo (1927). His daughter Carmelita was born whilst de la Selva served as the director of newspaper ''Nicaragua Libre'' of the Nicaraguan Patriotic League and perished in the earthquake which shook Managua on March 31, 1931. By 1930 he had published articles supporting

Augusto César Sandino Augusto César Sandino (; 18 May 1895 21 February 1934), full name Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary, founder of the militant group EDSN, and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the United Sta ...

published in San José,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

through different media such as the ''Diario de Costa Rica'' and '' Repertorio Americano'' of Joaquín García Monge.Fiallos Gil, Mariano (1963). ''Salomón de la Selva poeta de la humildad y la grandeza,'' Hospicio, León, Nicaragua. and in 1935 he moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, where he was able to influence Mexican politics; along with his brother Rogelio de la Selva, he was advisor to President

Miguel Alemán Valdés Miguel Alemán Valdés (; 29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) was a Mexican politician who served a full term as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952, the first civilian president after a string of revolutionary generals. His administ ...

. In 1933, a son of de la Selva's, Juan, is born in Panama to actress Betty Schroeder. Whilst in France, as a Nicaraguan ambassador for the Government of President Luis Anastasio Somoza, he died on February 5, 1959, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Works

Poetry

* ''Tropical Town and Other Poems'' (1918) * ''A Song For Wall Street'' (1918) * ''A Soldier Sings'' (1919) * ''El soldado desconocido'' (1922) * ''Evocación de Horacio, Canto a Mérida de Yucatán en la celebración de sus Juegos Florales'' (1947) * ''La ilustre familia'' (195) * ''Canto a la Independencia de México'' (1955) * ''Evocación de Píndaro'' (1957) * ''Acolmixtli Netzahualcóyotl'' (1958)

Novels

* ''La guerra de Sandino o el pueblo desnudo'', written in 1935, posthumously published in 1985. *''Narciso, a history of Nicaragua'' (1930)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selva, Salomon De La 20th-century Nicaraguan poets Nicaraguan male poets Nicaraguan journalists Williams College alumni 1959 deaths 1893 births Ambassadors of Nicaragua to France 20th-century Nicaraguan male writers 20th-century journalists