He Uruguayan writer and poet Mario Benedetti, Known for his short stories, his poems and his writings on political struggle, he is one of the most famous Latin American authors and recognized from the literary scene of the 20th century.
This poet, the son of Italian immigrants, sought to speak about love and political commitment in the most direct and passionate way possible. He is famous for the direct style of his verses of love, anger and resistance.
Benedetti reached his peak as a writer at the same time as Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and other writers who sparked what is known as the “Latin American novel boom.”
Poems by Mario Benedetti: his beginnings
Other poems:
Mario Benedetti was born into a prosperous family of Italian immigrants on September 14, 1920 in the small town of Paso de los Toros. Like many Uruguayans, he came from a population of Italian immigrants and, following Italian custom, he received no less than five names: Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno. At just four years old, Benedetti went to live in Montevideo.
The young Benedetti decided from the beginning I wanted to be a writer, despite the fact that he had to dedicate himself to doing very diverse jobs to survive. Benedetti began his literary career by publishing poetry, but soon turned to short stories and novels. In them he painted a realistic and critical portrait of the rising Uruguayan middle class, to which he belonged.
Mario Benedetti, writer and poet
In the early 1940s Benedetti launched himself as a poet, with The indelible evepublished in 1945, and as a journalist, joining Marcha in 1945.
In 1953 his first novel appeared, titled who of us. His first book of poetry popular was released in 1956 and was titled office poems. In it Benedetti shows an understanding attitude of the slow and unspectacular life of the middle classes of Montevideo, trapped in their small world of daily struggles and tensions. In 1960 he published Truceby far his most successful novel, which was made into a film that was nominated for an Oscar in 1974.
His most successful stories appeared in the collection Montevideans in 1959, a title reminiscent of James Joyce’s The Dubliners. Like Joyce, Benedetti was captivated by urban life, and became the chronicler of the bourgeoisie of the Uruguayan capital. His works became best sellers In uruguay.
By the 1960s Mario Benedetti’s reputation had already spread throughout Latin America. Your novel Truce, which saw the light of day in 1960, was widely read.
This is his most successful novel and was made into a film that was nominated for an Oscar in 1974.
His allegorical novel also had great success. Juan Ángel’s birthday, published in 1971.
Benedetti’s Travels
The stability of Uruguayan society that Benedetti had written about came under increasing pressure in the 1960s. He wrote political articles on the March calling for radical change, and was instrumental in helping to establish the Frente Amplio movement, which sought to bring together all left-wing groups in Uruguay.
However, in the early 1970s, as in other countries in the southern cone of Latin America, the threat of revolutionary change led the military to intervene and begin political repression never before seen in a peaceful country like Uruguay.
In 1973, Benedetti was forced to leave the country, and when he crossed the Río de la Plata to seek refuge in Argentina, he was immediately threatened by a right-wing paramilitary death squad and forced to move on. He then attempted to settle in Peru, but was deported after six months. He eventually settled in Cuba, where he worked for the publishing house Casa de las Américas, and also began visiting post-Franco Spain.
This experience of exile strongly marked the second half of Benedetti’s life. In exile he published two of his best collections of poems, Poems of others (in 1974) and The house and the brick (in 1977), as well as one of his best-known novels, Spring with a broken corner, work with which he received, in 1987, the Golden Flame Award.
Although he recognized the positive aspects, such as meeting new people, exploring different environments, and gaining a broader reputation, he felt like he would never be able to return home. As a result of all these trips, in 1984 he published the book De-exile and other conjectures.
Return to Montevideo
In 1983 he returned to Montevideo, alternating periods of living there and long periods in Madrid. Benedetti suffered from chronic asthma, which worsened with age. However, the most serious blow came in 2006, when his wife died after a long period of Alzheimer’s disease.
Benedetti continued writing poems, novels and short stories. He died in Montevideo on May 17, 2009 after having published more than 80 books.
Benedetti has been awarded many awards, such as the VIII Reina Sofía Prize for Ibero-American Poetry (1999). Additionally, posthumously, he was named patron of the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library.
Love poems by Mario Benedetti
The love poems by Mario Benedetti They are a true gem of universal literature. Even translated, Benedetti’s love poems are great beauty and depth.
There is no doubt that Mario Benedetti’s poems are eternals. Their poetic style attracts because ordinary people around the world identify with them.
One of Benedetti’s most popular love poetry collections is Love, women and life, a compilation of love poems published in 1995, in which some of the Uruguayan poet’s most beautiful love poems appear.
Furthermore, Benedetti is well known for his short poems. The short poems by Mario Benedettiboth about love and other topics, result from great intensity and beauty. Benedetti’s short poems are, without a doubt, the best expression of his genius, romanticism and magical vision of reality.