Paz

Octavio Paz was a Mexican poet, essayist, nonfiction writer, dramatist, editor, and translator. He was born in Mexico City on March 31, 1914. He became one of the most celebrated Latin American writers of the twentieth century. Paz earned international acclaim for poetry and essays in which he sought to reconcile divisive and opposing forces in life. His writings accommodated such elements as culture and nature, stressing that language and love can provide means for attaining unity.

His works reflected his knowledge of the history, myths, and landscapes of Mexico. He began his literary career, while in his late teens, by founding the journal "Barrandal," and publishing his first volume of poems "Luna Silvestre" (1933; "Sylvan Moon"). Paz's numerous essays are praised for their lyrical prose and insightful discussions of art, literature, culture, language and political philosophies. He established his international reputation as a major literary figure during the 1950's with the publication of some of his most famous works, including El Laberinto de la Soledad (1950; The Labyrinth of Solitude) This work explored Mexican history, mythology, and social behavior. "Piedra de Sol" (1957; "Sun Stone") is a long poem generally considered his finest achievement in verse. "Sun Stone" recorded the psychological processes underlying an individual's attempt to make sense of existence. In 1990 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In his early poetry, Paz experimented with such diverse forms such as the sonnet and free verse, reflecting his desire to renew and clarify the Spanish language. He often employed the surrealist technique of developing a series of related or unrelated images to emphasize a particular state of mind. Aguila o Sol? (1951; Eagle or Sun?), is one of his most important early volumes which is a sequence of prose poems concerning the past, present and future of Mexico. Paz reflected upon his feelings when he says, "Wouldn't it be better to turn life into poetry rather than to make poetry from life? And cannot poetry have as its primary objective, rather than the creation of poems, the creation of poetic moments?"

 

PEL PACHUCO Y OTROS EXTREMOS

 

A TODOS, en algun momento, se nos ha revelado nuestra existencia como algo particular, intransferible y precioso. El descubrimiento de nosotros mismos se manifiesta como un sabernos solos; entre el mundo y nosotros se abre una impalpable muralla: la de nuestra conciencia. Es cierto que apenas nacemos nos sentimos solos; pero ninos y adultos pueden transcender su soledad y olvidarse de si mismos a traves de juego o trabajo. En cambio, el adolescente se asombra de ser. Y al pasmo sucede la reflexion: inclinado sobre el rio de su conciencia se pregunta si ese rostro que aflora lentamente del fondo, deformado por el agua, es el suyo. La singularidad de ser--pura sensacion en el nino-- se transforma en problema y pregunta, en conciencia interrogante.

A las pueblos en trance de crecimeinto les ocurre algo parecido. Su ser se manifiesta como interrogacion: ?que somos y como realizaremos eso que somos? Muchas veces las respuestas que damos a estas preguntas son desmentidas por la historia, acaso porque eso que llaman el "genio de los pueblos" solo es un complejo de reacciones ante un estimulo dado; frente a circunstancias diversas, las respuestas pueden variar y con ellas el caracter nacional, que se pretendia in mutable. A pesar de la naturaleza casi siempre ilusoria de los ensayos de psicologia nacional, me parece reveladora la insistencia con que en ciertos periodos los pueblos se vuelven sobre si mismos y se interrogan. Despertar a la historia significa adquirir conciencia de nuestra singularidad, momento de reposo reflexivo antes de entregarnos al hacer.

The passage above is from The Labyrinth of Solitude, by Octavio Paz, that explores Mexican history, mythology and social behavior. According to Paz modern Mexico and its people suffer a collective identity crisis resulting from their mixed Indian and Spanish heritage, the influence of the United States and a recurring cycle of war and isolation.

(El Laberinto de la Soledad, Octavio Paz p.9)

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on Octavio Paz check out these websites:

 

 

 

http://www.castilleja.com/spanish/public_html/Miscellaneous/octavio.paz.html

 

http://www.quicklink.com/mexico/prensa/paz2.htm

 

http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/literature/1990a.html

 

http://mexplaza.udg.mx/fce/ingles/autores/inautor2.html

 

http://www.clark.net/pub/jgbustam/famosos/octaviop.html

 

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~schleize/VAR/touch.paz

 

http://gyoza.com/frank/html/08Paz.html