Jorge Carrera Andrade
Encyclopedia
Jorge Carrera Andrade was an Ecuadorian poet, historian, author, and diplomat during the 20th century. He was born in Quito, Ecuador in 1902. He died in 1978. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges
, Pablo Neruda
, Octavio Paz
and Cesar Vallejo
as one of the most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century.
. He served as Ecuadorian Consul in Peru
, France
, Japan
and the United States
. Later he became Ambassador
to Venezuela
, the United Kingdom
, Nicaragua
, France
, Belgium
, and the Netherlands
. He also served as Secretary of State
of Ecuador.
While living in the United States, Carrera developed many literary relationships with American writers, in particular Muna Lee
whose critically acclaimed translation of his poetry, Secret Country, was published in 1946. His work was praised and championed by John Malcolm Brinnin
, H.R. Hays, Archibald MacLeish
, Carl Sandburg
, William Jay Smith
and William Carlos Williams
. Carrera Andrade's poetic work developed for half a century in a number of volumes published worldwide.
In 1972 Obra poetica completa, which gathers the totality of his lyric work, appeared in Quito. Most of his poetry has been translated into French, English], Italian and German. He also published books of essays, history and an autobiography, El volcan y el colibri (The Volcano and the Hummingbird).
After Carrera's diplomatic career ended in 1969, he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at SUNY Stony Brook, Long Island, where he lectured for two academic years. He spent his last years in his native city of Quito, as Director of the National Library of Ecuador. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges
, Pablo Neruda
, Octavio Paz
and Cesar Vallejo
as one of the most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century.
of his birth. In the same year a group of Ecuadorian intellectuals gathered in Cuenca, Ecuador
, to examine the life and work of Carrera Andrade.
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
and Cesar Vallejo
César Vallejo
César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza was a Peruvian poet. Although he published only three books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century in any language. Thomas Merton called him "the greatest universal poet since Dante"...
as one of the most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century.
Writing and diplomatic career
From 1928-33 Carrera first experienced traveling in EuropeEurope
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...
. He served as Ecuadorian Consul in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Later he became Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He also served as Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
of Ecuador.
While living in the United States, Carrera developed many literary relationships with American writers, in particular Muna Lee
Muna Lee (writer)
This article is about the Puerto Rico-based writer. For the American athlete, see Muna Lee .Muna Lee was an American author and poet who became widely known for her writings that promoted Pan-Americanism and Feminism.Born in Raymond, Mississippi, Lee began her writing career as a well-known lyric...
whose critically acclaimed translation of his poetry, Secret Country, was published in 1946. His work was praised and championed by John Malcolm Brinnin
John Malcolm Brinnin
John Malcolm Brinnin was an American poet and literary critic. Brinnin was born in Halifax Nova Scotia to two United States citizens....
, H.R. Hays, Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish was an American poet, writer, and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.-Early years:...
, Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
, William Jay Smith
William Jay Smith
William Jay Smith is an American poet. He was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970.- Life :...
and William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
. Carrera Andrade's poetic work developed for half a century in a number of volumes published worldwide.
In 1972 Obra poetica completa, which gathers the totality of his lyric work, appeared in Quito. Most of his poetry has been translated into French, English], Italian and German. He also published books of essays, history and an autobiography, El volcan y el colibri (The Volcano and the Hummingbird).
After Carrera's diplomatic career ended in 1969, he was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at SUNY Stony Brook, Long Island, where he lectured for two academic years. He spent his last years in his native city of Quito, as Director of the National Library of Ecuador. During his life and after his death he has been recognized with Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
and Cesar Vallejo
César Vallejo
César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza was a Peruvian poet. Although he published only three books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century in any language. Thomas Merton called him "the greatest universal poet since Dante"...
as one of the most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century.
A celebrated poet
In 2002 the Republic of Ecuador celebrated the centuryCentury
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
of his birth. In the same year a group of Ecuadorian intellectuals gathered in Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province. It is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level...
, to examine the life and work of Carrera Andrade.
External links
- The Rediscovery of Jorge Carrera Andrade: A Celebration at Assumption College, An Introduction by Steven Ford Brown
- "Jorge Carrera Andrade in America" (Jacket magazine (Australia), July 2000)
- Feature on Jorge Carrera Andrade (The Drunken Boat, Summer 2000)
- Jorge Carrera Andrade Special Collection, Stony Brook University Libraries
- Three Poems by Jorge Carrera Andrade (The Cortland Review, May 1999)
- Steven Ford Brown, Twelve Poems by Jorge Carrera Andrade (Jacket magazine (Australia), July 2000)
- Biografia de Jorge Carrera Andrade (Biografias y vidas)
- Yashar Ahad Saremi, Poem by Jorge Carrera Andrade translated into Persian (World Literature, June 20, 2008)
- H.R. Hays, "Jorge Carrera Andrade: Magician of Metaphors" (Jacket magazine (Australia), July 2000)