Juan Rodolfo Wilcock
Encyclopedia
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock was an Argentinian author, poet, critic and translator. He was the son of Charles Leonard Wilcock and Ida Romegialli.
.
He studied at the Universidad de Buenos Aires from which he graduated as a Civil Engineer
in 1943. That same year he started to work for a railroad company then in expansion in the western parts of Argentina. The experience would be short-lived, as Wilcock resigned a year later. His first known literary work and accomplishment came in 1940 under the title Libro de poemas y canciones ("Book of Poems and Songs") which earned the Martín Fierro, a prize given by the Argentine Society of Writers (SADE). The same work would also win the prestigious Municipal Award of Literature given by the City of Buenos Aires. Soon Wilcock would see himself surrounded by some of the most prominent writers-intellectuals of the time like Jorge Luis Borges
, Silvina Ocampo
, and Adolfo Bioy Casares
to name just a few of the acquaintances he befriended, but perhaps the most influential. Wilcock would later refer to the three as a constellation and the Trinity, which helped him elevate from what he called a “grey existence”. In 1945 Wilcock undertook the self-publication of two collections of poetry: Ensayos de poesía lírica and Persecución de las musas menores. The following year he would again obtain the award granted by the Argentine Society of Writers (SADE) for his Paseo Sentimental. Also in 1946, Wilcock published his Los hermosos días.
’s regime was suffocating intellectual life in Argentina; as World War II
was over in Europe, many chose to relocate to the newly liberated capitals of the old world. In 1951 Wilcock left Argentina for the first time in a visit to Italy. He traveled in the company of Ocampo and Bioy Casares.
. After a short return to Buenos Aires in 1954 he once again set sail for Italy where he would settle for good three years later. From now on most of his works, some of his most celebrated, would be written in Italian, a language he learned to command perfectly. In 1975, Wilcock requested the Italian citizenship which was finally granted to him a year after his death, which occurred in his country cottage in Lubriano
, Province of Viterbo
, north to Rome, in March 1978.
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock is buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome
located near the Porta San Paolo
alongside the Pyramid of Cestius
.
Early life
Wilcock was born at Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
He studied at the Universidad de Buenos Aires from which he graduated as a Civil Engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
in 1943. That same year he started to work for a railroad company then in expansion in the western parts of Argentina. The experience would be short-lived, as Wilcock resigned a year later. His first known literary work and accomplishment came in 1940 under the title Libro de poemas y canciones ("Book of Poems and Songs") which earned the Martín Fierro, a prize given by the Argentine Society of Writers (SADE). The same work would also win the prestigious Municipal Award of Literature given by the City of Buenos Aires. Soon Wilcock would see himself surrounded by some of the most prominent writers-intellectuals of the time like 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...
, Silvina Ocampo
Silvina Ocampo
Silvina Ocampo Aguirre was an Argentine poet and short-fiction writer.Ocampo was born in Buenos Aires, the youngest of the six children of Manuel Ocampo and Ramona Aguirre. She was educated at home by tutors. One of her sisters was Victoria Ocampo, the publisher of the literarily important...
, and Adolfo Bioy Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, and translator. He was a friend and collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges, and wrote what many consider one of the best pieces of fantastic fiction, the novella The Invention of Morel.-Biography:Adolfo Bioy...
to name just a few of the acquaintances he befriended, but perhaps the most influential. Wilcock would later refer to the three as a constellation and the Trinity, which helped him elevate from what he called a “grey existence”. In 1945 Wilcock undertook the self-publication of two collections of poetry: Ensayos de poesía lírica and Persecución de las musas menores. The following year he would again obtain the award granted by the Argentine Society of Writers (SADE) for his Paseo Sentimental. Also in 1946, Wilcock published his Los hermosos días.
Travels and tribulations
At the time, General Juan PeronJuan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
’s regime was suffocating intellectual life in Argentina; as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was over in Europe, many chose to relocate to the newly liberated capitals of the old world. In 1951 Wilcock left Argentina for the first time in a visit to Italy. He traveled in the company of Ocampo and Bioy Casares.
Life as an Italian author
By 1953 he was residing in London earning a living as a translator and a commentator for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. After a short return to Buenos Aires in 1954 he once again set sail for Italy where he would settle for good three years later. From now on most of his works, some of his most celebrated, would be written in Italian, a language he learned to command perfectly. In 1975, Wilcock requested the Italian citizenship which was finally granted to him a year after his death, which occurred in his country cottage in Lubriano
Lubriano
Lubriano is a comune of c. 900 inhabitants in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about 90 km northwest of Rome and about 25 km north of Viterbo....
, Province of Viterbo
Province of Viterbo
The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...
, north to Rome, in March 1978.
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock is buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome
Protestant Cemetery, Rome
The Protestant Cemetery , now officially called the Cimitero acattolico and often referred to as the Cimitero degli Inglesi is a cemetery in Rome, located near Porta San Paolo alongside the Pyramid of Cestius, a small-scale Egyptian-style pyramid built in 30 BC as a tomb and later incorporated...
located near the Porta San Paolo
Porta San Paolo
The Porta San Paolo is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The Ostiense Museum is housed within in the gatehouse...
alongside the Pyramid of Cestius
Pyramid of Cestius
The Pyramid of Cestius is an ancient pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata...
.
Published posthumously
- Poemas (1980)
- La sinagoga de los iconoclastas (1981, translated into English by Lawrence VenutiLawrence VenutiLawrence Venuti , American translation theorist, translation historian and translator from Italian, French, and Catalan.-Career:...
as The Temple of Iconoclasts) - El ingeniero (1996)
- El estereoscopio de los solitarios (1998)
- Hechos inquietantes (1998)
- El libro de los monstruos (1999)
- Los dos indios alegres (2001)
- El templo etrusco (2004)