Juan Manuel Roca (1946) is a Colombian writer, poet, essayist and storyteller whose work is one of the most recognized of the 21st century. His professional life has spanned the field of journalism and the promotion of culture through events and conferences in the Colombian territory..
Roca's literary work has developed within the parameters of the surrealist movement. The texts of this intellectual stand out for their originality and creativity, making use of a cultured, precise and expressive language. Regarding his poetry, it stands out for being deep and reflective.
Juan Manuel Roca's literary production is extensive. Some of the most prominent titles in his repertoire have been: Moon of the Blind, The Night Thieves, Sign of Crows, Citizen of the Night Y Sing from afar. The writer has been recognized with several awards. In relation to his life there is little information.
Article index
Juan Manuel Roca was born on December 29, 1946 in the city of Medellín in Colombia. It is known that he came from a cultured family with a good socioeconomic position, and that they always focused on his preparation. His father was the poet and journalist Juan Roca Lemus.
Roca's education took place in Mexico and Paris, which was due to his father's diplomatic labors. In those places, the writer received elementary and high school education, in addition to the intellectual and educational support of his father.
Roca inherited his talent for letters from his father, so he devoted himself fully to writing. In his youth, he published his first poetic works. The author became known in 1973 with Water memory and three years later he brought to light Moon of the blind.
Juan Manuel was quickly recognized by the reading public and critics, due to his good literary performance. This is how in the seventies he received two national poetry awards, the "Eduardo Cote Lamus" and the "University of Antioquia." These recognitions opened important doors in his career.
Juan Manuel Roca's literary work extended to journalism. In the eighties the poet served as coordinator of the publication Sunday Magazine from the Colombian newspaper The viewer. After that he was promoted to director of the aforementioned magazine and served from 1988 to 1999.
Roca was also director of the Silva Poetry House in Bogotá for more than twenty years, from 1986 to 2011. During his services, the writer organized various cultural events and developed research projects for the knowledge and dissemination of poetry..
- National Poetry Award "Eduardo Cote Lamus" in 1975.
- National Poetry Prize "Universidad de Antioquia" in 1979.
- Best Book Commentator Award by the Colombian Book Chamber in 1992.
- Simón Bolívar National Journalism Award in 1993.
- National Short Story Award from the University of Antioquia in 2000.
- Finalist for the Rómulo Gallegos Award in 2004 in the novel category.
- National Poetry Award from the Ministry of Culture in 2004.
- Casa de las Américas Award in 2007 for Sing from afar. Personal anthology.
- "José Lezama Lima" Poetry Award in 2007 for the work Sing from afar. Personal anthology.
- Casa de América Award for American Poetry in 2009 for Poor bible. Spain.
- Honorary Doctorate from the National University of Colombia in 2014.
Juan Manuel Roca's literary style has stood out for its surreal, fanciful and imaginary features. His work is original, creative and witty. The author has used a cultured, precise and expressive language, although far from sentimentality and exaggerated emotionalism.
- Water memory (1973).
- Moon of the blind (1976).
- The night thieves (1977).
- Letters from sleep (1978).
- Crows sign (1979).
- Cavalry mester (1979).
- Royal fab (1980).
- Poetic anthology (1983).
- Secret country (1987).
- Night citizen (1989).
- Moon of the blind (1990). Anthology.
- Pavana with the devil (1990).
- Monologues (1994).
- Meeting memory (nineteen ninety five).
- The angel's pharmacy (nineteen ninety five).
- Gathering of absentees (1998).
- Place of apparitions (2000).
- The five burials of Pessoa (2001).
- Arenga of the one who dreams (2002).
- Shadow theater with César Vallejo (2002).
- A violin for Chagall (2003).
- Nobody's hypotheses (2005).
- Sing from afar (2005). Anthology.
- The besieged angel and other poems (2006).
- The pianist from the land of waters (date unknown). Written jointly with Patricia Durán.
- Comala Triptych (date unknown). With Antonio Samudio.
- Of the circus lunary (date unknown). Together with Fabián Rendón.
- Wills (2008).
- Poor bible (2009).
- Passport of the stateless person (2012).
- Three faces of the moon (2013).
- Syllabus of the Way: Poetry Collected 1973-2014 (2016).
- Gathered prose (1993).
- The secret plagues and other tales (2001).
- That damn habit of dying (2003).
- Genaro Manoblanca, maker of marimbas (2013).
- Museum of encounters (nineteen ninety five).
- Memory cartographer (2003).
- The house without peace. Violence and the Colombian poets of the 20th century (2007).
- Mirror gallery (date unknown).
- The kiss of the Mona Lisa (2015).
- Rocabulary (2006). Anthology of its definitions. With the collaboration of Henry Posada.
- Emergency Anarchist Dictionary (2008). Together with Iván Darío Álvarez.
"In pieces I would have to remember
stretches of road: shuffleboard players
under a moon of pasture and men on bicycles
crossing in the middle of the pines.
If just by folding the map of the country
they will be kept in the bag
places that memory does not visit,
you could draw an atlas of oblivion.
There is a loose nut
after adjusting all the parts
and maybe she is the one that gives life to everything
the gear:
my heart was in quarantine
or did he let the vines
they will climb avoiding a new trip ... ".
"If the water
low pregnant with omens
from the Sierra Nevada
to the feet of Nazaria.
If ripe mangoes fall
ripping the silence
on an abandoned canoe.
If upon reaching the valley
the cotton
it looks like the snow of the tropics ...
If where the distance is born
there is a rumor of copper pans
and a smell of contraband.
If the river chronicler
tell horror stories
that besiege
the streets of Tamalameque ... ".
Yet No Comments