Enrique Gonzalez Martinez (1871-1952) was a Mexican writer, poet, physician, and diplomat. The birth of his literary work, at the beginning of the 20th century, meant the closure of the current of modernism and was connected with new ideas and innovations, which made him the first Mexican postmodernist.
González Martínez was characterized by writing -in a first stage- works with an elegant and careful verb, while using comparisons. Later, he focused more on the subject; that is, his lyrics became more profound, reflective and connected with the human being..
Some of the most important titles of the Mexican author were Silenter, The Hidden Paths, Absence and Song Y Babel. On the other hand, Enrique González Martínez also held various positions within the politics of his country, serving as ambassador in several countries..
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Enrique González Martínez was born on April 13, 1871, in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. He came from a cultured, middle-class family. Although the data on his family are scarce, it is known that his father served as a teacher, and that for a time he was in charge of his education.
The first years of education for Enrique González Martínez were received from his father. Later, in 1881, when he was ten years old, he entered the Men's High School. Later he attended high school at a seminary in Guadalajara; chose to be a doctor, graduating from college in 1893.
Recently graduated as a doctor, Enrique González Martínez received a job offer, so he began to work as a professor of physiology. At the same time, he had the opportunity to exhibit his verses in various print media in his hometown. The taste for literature was evidenced as a teenager.
In 1896 González Martínez moved with his family to Sinaloa. Besides dedicating himself to writing poetry and practicing as a doctor, he also ventured into politics, serving as secretary general of the government; other than that he was also prefect.
On a personal level, González Martínez met the love of his life, Luisa Rojo, in Sinaloa. There they both fell deeply in love. In 1898 the couple married. The following year their first child was born, whom they named Enrique, and then María Luisa and Héctor were born. Enrique had a friend and life partner in his wife.
Enrique González Martínez's literary vocation led him to publish his first work in 1903, which he called Prelude. The manuscript was characterized by having features of modernism. It was with this creation that the poet began to make his way into the literary and intellectual world.
After having published his first poetic work, Enrique González Martínez brought to light three more, between 1907 and 1911. These manuscripts were: Lyricisms, Silenter Y The hidden trails. From the last mentioned, he made the decision to no longer practice as a doctor, and focused almost exclusively on writing.
In 1911 González Martínez went to live in Mexico City, with the intention of joining the literary and intellectual groups in the capital. So, the following year, he joined the Ateneo de la Juventud. He also worked as an editor, and was part of the creation of Argus, a literary magazine.
Politics and diplomacy were also part of the life of the doctor and writer. In 1913, during the government of José Victoriano Huerta, he served as an official of the Public Instruction and Fine Arts entity. Then, in 1914, he served as administrative staff of the government of Puebla.
Enrique González Martínez also dedicated himself to teaching. Between 1914 and 1916, he worked in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the National Autonomous University of Mexico as a professor of French literature. Meanwhile, at the National Preparatory School, he taught Mexican literature.
The Mexican poet combined literary work with diplomatic work for a time. In 1917, together with the poets Efrén Rebolledo and Ramón López Velarde, he was in charge of the publication Pegasus. That same year he published The book of strength, goodness and dream.
Later, from 1920 to 1931, Enrique González Martínez served as his country's diplomatic representative. He was the ambassador of Mexico to Portugal, Chile, Spain and Argentina. At that time he published The word of the wind, the hallucinated rosemary Y Stealth signals.
The Mexican author returned to his country in 1931, after a decade of absence in fulfillment of his diplomatic duties. He quickly joined the political and literary life of the country. A year later, on January 20, 1932, he got a place at the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua.
In the mid-thirties, González Martínez suffered the loss of his wife Luisa Rojo. A few years later, that of his eldest son, also a writer and poet, Enrique González Rojo. Grief over the passing of loved ones inspired him to write Absence and singing Y Under the mortal sign.
The last years of the Mexican poet's life were dedicated to literature, and to participating in the founding of different cultural institutions. An example was the National College in 1943. In addition, he also held some talks and lectures on poetry and literature..
Between 1944 and 1949, he published some works, of which stood out Complete poems, Second awakening and other poems, Vilano al viento Y Babel. In the early 1950s, his health began to deteriorate. He died on February 19, 1952, in Mexico City, at the age of eighty..
- Member of the Mexican Academy of the Language, from January 20, 1932. His seat was chair XIII.
- Member of the Seminary of Mexican Culture, since 1942.
- Member of the National College in 1943. In addition, he was one of the founding members.
- Ávila Camacho National Prize for Literature in 1944.
- Candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. That year the American writer and poet William Faulkner won it..
The literary style of Enrique González Martínez was first framed in the last period of modernism, and later he became a postmodernist writer. This meant that his first works had a cultured, sober and well-elaborated language, with a marked style..
The literature of his early years, between 1903 and 1910, was characterized by the abundant use of metaphors, symbolisms, and comparisons. In addition, the content was more superficial with respect to its later stage. Also passion and emotions were strongly present in his work.
Starting in 1911, with his work The hidden trails, the Mexican writer opened the doors to postmodernism. Although his language continued along the lines of elegance and originality, it was also true that his lyrics reflected a deeper and more reflective change..
Enrique González Martínez oriented his poetic work towards the essence of being, through the use of philosophy. His subjects were more personal and intimate, related to his concerns, so he wrote about life, evolution and the end of existence..
- Preludes (1903).
- Lyricism (1907).
- Silenter (1909).
- The hidden trails (1911).
- Death of the swan (1915).
- The useless hour (1916).
- The book of strength, goodness and dreams (1917).
- Parables and other poems (1918).
- Poems of yesterday and today (1919).
- The one hundred best poems by Enrique González Martínez (1920).
- The word of the wind (1921).
- The hallucinated rosemary (1923).
- Stealth signals (1926).
- Truncated poems (1935).
- Absence and singing (1937).
- The deluge of fire (1938).
- Poetry, 1898-1939 (1939-1940).
- Three roses in the amphora (1939).
- Under the mortal sign (1942).
- Complete poems (1944).
- Second awakening and other poems (1945).
- Vilano to the wind (1948).
- Babel (1949).
- The new Narcissus and other poems (Posthumous edition, 1952).
"Twist the neck of the swan with deceptive plumage
which gives its white note to the blue of the fountain;
he walks his grace no more, but he does not feel
the soul of things nor the voice of the landscape.
Run away from all forms and all language
that do not go according to the latent rhythm
of the deep life ... and adore intensely
life, and may life understand your tribute.
"Look at the wise owl as it spreads its wings
from Olympus, leave the lap of Pallas
and the taciturn flight rests in that tree ...
He does not have the grace of the swan, but his restless
pupil, which is stuck in the shadow, interprets
the mysterious book of the nocturnal silence ".
- Owl man (1944).
- The gentle madness (1951).
In 1971 it came to light Complete works, by El Colegio Nacional de México.
Enrique González Martínez also devoted himself to the translation of literary works by great writers of universal stature. However, his most emblematic work was Gardens of France, in 1915, an anthology that collected writings by authors such as Baudelaire, Francis Jammes, and Paul Verlaine, among others.
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