Amado Nervo
Encyclopedia
Amado Nervo also known as Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo was the Mexican Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay, journalist, poet
, and educator. His poetry was known for its use of metaphor
and reference to mysticism, presenting both love and religion, as well as Christianity and Hinduism. Nervo is noted as one of the most important Mexican poets of the 19th century.
, Nayarit
. His father died when Nervo was 13 years old. Two more deaths were to mark his life: the suicide of his brother Luis, who was also a poet, and the death of his wife Ana Cecilia Luisa Daillez, just 11 years after marriage.
His early studies were at the Colegio San Luis Gonzaga, located in Jacona, Michoacán
. After graduation, he began studying at the Roman Catholic Seminary in nearby Zamora
. His studies at the seminary included science, philosophy and the first year of law. It was here, that Nervo cultivated an interest in mystical theories, which were reflected in some of his early works.
While Nervo had early plans to join the priesthood, economic hardship led him to accept a desk job in Tepic. He later moved to Mazatlán
, where he alternately worked in the office of a lawyer and as a journalist for El Correo de la Tarde (The Evening Mail). He went on to become a successful poet, journalist, and international diplomat.
, where he became known and appreciated, working in the magazine Blue, with Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera
. It was during this time that he was introduced to the work of Luis G. Urbina, Tablada, Dávalos, Rubén Darío
, José Santos Chocano
, and Campoamor. His background in journalism and news reporting flourished during these years, as he continued writing for El Universal
, El Nacional, and El Mundo. He maintained a formal partnership with El Mundo through June 1897.
In October 1897, El Mundo launched a supplement called The World Comedy, with Nervo taking responsibility for the overall production. In January 1898, the supplement was established independently from El Mundo and changed its name to The Comedy.
Nervo gained a national reputation in the literary community, after the publication of his novel El bachiller (The Bachelor) and his books of poetry, including "Místicas (Mystical)" and "Perlas Negras (Black Pearls)".
In 1898, Nervo founded, along with Jesús Valenzuela, La Revista Moderna (The Modern Magazine). The magazine was the successor to Blue. He was the cousin of the renowned artist, Roberto Montenegro
Nervo. His cousin's first illustrations were produced for La Revista Moderna magazine.
In 1902, Nervo wrote "La Raza de Bronce (The Bronze Race
)" in honor of Benito Juárez
, former president of Mexico. In 1919, Bolivian writer Alcides Arguedas
used the term in his novel, Raza de Bronce. In 1925, the term was used by Mexican luminary, José Vasconcelos
in his essay, La Raza Cósmica
.
Nervo spent the first years of the 20th century in Europe
, particularly in Paris
. While there, he was an academic correspondent of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
. While in Paris, Nervo befriended Enrique Gómez Carrillo
and Aurora Cáceres
for whom he wrote a prologue for the book La rosa muerta.
and Uruguay
.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and educator. His poetry was known for its use of metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
and reference to mysticism, presenting both love and religion, as well as Christianity and Hinduism. Nervo is noted as one of the most important Mexican poets of the 19th century.
Early life
Nervo was born in TepicTepic
Tepic is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Nayarit.It is located in the central part of the state, at.It stands at an altitude above sea level of some 915 meters, on the banks of the Río Mololoa and the Río Tepic, approximately 225 kilometers north-west of Guadalajara, Jalisco....
, Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
. His father died when Nervo was 13 years old. Two more deaths were to mark his life: the suicide of his brother Luis, who was also a poet, and the death of his wife Ana Cecilia Luisa Daillez, just 11 years after marriage.
His early studies were at the Colegio San Luis Gonzaga, located in Jacona, Michoacán
Jacona, Michoacán
Jacona de Plancarte is a city, county seat of Jacona in the state of Michoacán. Located in the northwest of the state, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Patamban, part of the Volcanic Belt, at 1,600 meters altitude. It was founded by Fray Sebastián de Trasierra in 1555, although they are...
. After graduation, he began studying at the Roman Catholic Seminary in nearby Zamora
Zamora, Michoacán
Zamora de Hidalgo, is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The 2010 census population was 141,627. making it the third largest city in the state. The city is the municipal seat of Zamora Municipality, which has an area of 330.97 km² and includes many other smaller communities, the largest of...
. His studies at the seminary included science, philosophy and the first year of law. It was here, that Nervo cultivated an interest in mystical theories, which were reflected in some of his early works.
While Nervo had early plans to join the priesthood, economic hardship led him to accept a desk job in Tepic. He later moved to Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, where he alternately worked in the office of a lawyer and as a journalist for El Correo de la Tarde (The Evening Mail). He went on to become a successful poet, journalist, and international diplomat.
Writing career
In 1894, he continued his career in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where he became known and appreciated, working in the magazine Blue, with Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera
Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera
Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera was a Mexican writer and political figure.-Background:He was born in Mexico City on December 22, 1859, and in his youth worked as a journalist and was elected as a Deputy....
. It was during this time that he was introduced to the work of Luis G. Urbina, Tablada, Dávalos, Rubén Darío
Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento , known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo that flourished at the end of the 19th century...
, José Santos Chocano
José Santos Chocano
José Santos Chocano Gastañodi was a Peruvian poet who is also known as "The Singer of Americas", because the first line of one of his most celebrated poems: "I am the singer of the America, Autochthonous and Savage""...
, and Campoamor. His background in journalism and news reporting flourished during these years, as he continued writing for El Universal
El Universal (Mexico City)
El Universal is a major Mexican newspaper.El Universal was founded by Félix Palavicini and Emilio Rabasa in October 1916, in the city of Santiago de Queretaro to cover the end of the Mexican Revolution and the creation of the new Mexican Constitution...
, El Nacional, and El Mundo. He maintained a formal partnership with El Mundo through June 1897.
In October 1897, El Mundo launched a supplement called The World Comedy, with Nervo taking responsibility for the overall production. In January 1898, the supplement was established independently from El Mundo and changed its name to The Comedy.
Nervo gained a national reputation in the literary community, after the publication of his novel El bachiller (The Bachelor) and his books of poetry, including "Místicas (Mystical)" and "Perlas Negras (Black Pearls)".
In 1898, Nervo founded, along with Jesús Valenzuela, La Revista Moderna (The Modern Magazine). The magazine was the successor to Blue. He was the cousin of the renowned artist, Roberto Montenegro
Roberto Montenegro
Roberto Montenegro Nervo was a Mexican painter, illustrator, and stage designer....
Nervo. His cousin's first illustrations were produced for La Revista Moderna magazine.
In 1902, Nervo wrote "La Raza de Bronce (The Bronze Race
Bronze race
Bronze race is a term used by early 20th century Latin American writers of the indigenista and americanista schools to refer to the mestizo population that arose in America with the arrival of European colonists and their intermingling with the New World's indigenous Native American...
)" in honor of Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
, former president of Mexico. In 1919, Bolivian writer Alcides Arguedas
Alcides Arguedas
Alcides Arguedas was a Bolivian writer and historian.-Background and political and diplomatic roles:He was born in La Paz, where he studied law and political science. He later studied sociology in Paris and represented his country at several diplomatic missions in both Europe and America...
used the term in his novel, Raza de Bronce. In 1925, the term was used by Mexican luminary, José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón was a Mexican writer, philosopher and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities in the development of modern Mexico. His philosophy of "indigenismo" affected all aspects of Mexican sociocultural, political, and economic...
in his essay, La Raza Cósmica
La Raza Cósmica
Published in 1925, La Raza Cósmica is an essay written by late Mexican philosopher, secretary of education, and 1929 presidential candidate, José Vasconcelos to express the ideology of a future "fifth race" in the Americas; an agglomeration of all the races in the world with no respect to color or...
.
Nervo spent the first years of the 20th century in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, particularly in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. While there, he was an academic correspondent of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua is the correspondent academy in Mexico of the Royal Spanish Academy...
. While in Paris, Nervo befriended Enrique Gómez Carrillo
Enrique Gómez Carrillo
Enrique Gómez Carrillo was a Guatemalan literary critic, writer, journalist and diplomat...
and Aurora Cáceres
Aurora Cáceres
Zoila Aurora Cáceres Moreno was a writer associated with the literary movement known as modernismo. This European-based daughter of a Peruvian president wrote novels, essays, travel literature and a biography of her husband, the Guatemalan novelist Enrique Gómez Carrillo.Her life itself is...
for whom he wrote a prologue for the book La rosa muerta.
International diplomacy
When Nervo moved back to Mexico, he was appointed the Mexican Ambassador to ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
.
Personal background
In 1901, while he was in Paris he met and married Ana Cecilia Luisa Dailliez. They lived happily until her death in 1912. Out of his grief and desperation, Nervo wrote his most important work, "La Amada Inmóvil (The Immovable Loved One)", published posthumously in 1922.Legacy
- The Amado Nervo Museum displays photos and writings of Nervo. The museum can be found in the home where he was born, on the street which now bears his name.
- A long stretch of the Durango State HighwayDurango state highwaysThe following is a list of highways in the state of Durango in Mexico.-Federal Highways:*Mexican Federal Highway 23: Guanaceví, DGO – San Francisco del Mezquital, DGO*Mexican Federal Highway 24: Parral, CHIH - Guadalupe y Calvo, CHIH...
at San José de Tuitán and Villa Unión, DurangoVilla Unión, DurangoVilla Unión is a city and seat of the municipality of Poanas, in the state of Durango, north-western Mexico....
is named after Nervo.
- The Amado Nervo International Airport, the principal airport in the Mexican state of Nayarit, located in Tepic was also named after him.
- The Amado Nervo Institute in Camargo, ChihuahuaCamargo, ChihuahuaSanta Rosalía de Camargo, originally called Santa Rosalia, and now known as "Camargo City", is a city in the eastern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as municipal seat of Camargo municipality. It is a colonial town steeped in history. The Mission Santa Rosalía has a beautiful park...
is a private school, serving kindergarten through junior high school.
- In 1929, Mexican writer, Francisco MonterdeFrancisco MonterdeFrancisco de Asís Monterde García Icazbalceta was a prolific and multifaceted Mexican writer whose career spanned over fifty years...
wrote a biographical work about Nervo simply titled, Amado Nervo.
- In 1943, Mexican poet, Bernardo Ortiz de MontellanoBernardo Ortiz de MontellanoBernardo Ortiz de Montellano was a modern Mexican poet, literary critic, editor, and teacher.Ortiz de Montellano visited the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria...
wrote a biographical work about Nervo entitled, Figura, amor y muerte de Amado Nervo.
- In 2002, Carlos MonsiváisCarlos MonsiváisCarlos Monsiváis Aceves was a Mexican writer, critic, political activist, and journalist. of French decent He also wrote political opinion columns in leading newspapers and was considered to be an opinion leader within the country's progressive sectors. His generation of writers includes Elena...
, the Mexican journalist and political activist wrote an essay entitled, Yo te bendigo, vida, which was about Amado Nervo.
- In 2006, musical artist Rodrigo de la CadenaRodrigo de la CadenaRodrigo Alvarez de la Cadena is a Mexican singer, performer, songwriter, radio host, and musician. He is best known for his performances with a variety of worldwide artists and performers...
presented "Poema: Por Cobardia", which was a poem by Nervo's set to music. The song was recorded on de la Cadena's second solo album, Boleros con OrquestaBoleros con OrquestaBoleros Con Orquesta is the second solo album by artist Rodrigo de la Cadena. It was originally intended to be released in late 2006, but because of the difficulty of schedule of his international tour it was delayed until January 2007...
.
Published works
- El bachiller (The Bachelor) 1895, novel
- "Perlas Negras (Black Pearls)" 1898, poetry
- "Místicas (Mystical)" 1898, poetry
- "Poemas publicada en París (Poems published in Paris)" 1901, poetry
- "El éxodo y las flores del camino (The exodus of the road and flowers)" 1902, poetry
- "Lira heroica" 1902, poetry
- "Los jardines interiores (The inner gardens)" 1905, poetry
- Almas que pasan (Souls that pass) 1906, prose
- "En voz baja (In a low voice)" 1909, poetry
- Ellos (They) prose
- Juana de Asbaje: biografía de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Joan of Asbaje: biography of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz) 1910, essay
- "Serenidad (Serenity)" 1912, poetry
- "Mis filosofías (My philosophy)" 1912, review
- "Elevación (Elevation)" 1916, poetry
- El diablo desinteresado (The Devil disinterested) 1916, novel
- "Plenitud (Wholeness)" 1918, poetry
- "El estanque de los lotos (The lotus pond)" 1919, poetry
- "El arquero divino (Goalkeeper divine)" 1919, poetry, published posthumously
- Los balcones (The balconies) 1922, novel
- "La amada inmóvil (The Immovable Loved One)" 1922, poetry, published posthumously
- "Gratia plena"
- "Una Esperanza (A Hope)"
- "Muerto y Resucitado (Death and Reincarnation)
- "La raza de bronce (The Bronze Race)"
- "Éxtasis (Ecstasy)"