María Eugenia Vaz Ferreira
Encyclopedia
Maria Eugenia Vaz Ferreira (1875–1924) was an Uruguay
an teacher
and poet
. She was the younger sister of philosopher Carlos Vaz Ferreira
and a contemporary of Delmira Agustini
and Julio Herrera y Reissig
. She was born and lived in Montevideo
, the capital of Uruguay
.
She held a Chair in Literature at the Women's University. She suffered from mental illness and lost her reason some years before her death in 1924.
Her first volume of is entitled La isla de los canticos and consists of forty selected poems (and a single poem Unico poema added at her brother's insistence) which he published shortly after her death. A second volume, entitled La otra isla de los canticos, with a prologue by Emilio Oribe and containing a number of poems taken from her unpublished manuscripts, appeared in 1959 shortly after her brother's death. The modern Poesías Completas contains 112 poems.
Vaz Ferreira is regarded as a metaphysical poet who wrote emotive poems that speak of passion, death, hope, and the mysteries of love and existence.
She was also a musician, and the Lauro Ayestarán collection contains one of her manuscript scores with verses and music.
Contrasting myths have been built around her life. She has been idealised as, on the one hand, a type of consumptive virgin but, on the other hand, a Sandesque
cigar-smoking crossdresser notorious for practical jokes.
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. She was the younger sister of philosopher Carlos Vaz Ferreira
Carlos Vaz Ferreira
Carlos Vaz Ferreira was an Uruguayan philosopher, writer, and academic. Influenced by John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer, he is notable for introducing liberal, pluralistic political values and pragmatic philosophical concepts to South American society.-Life:Vaz was born in Montevideo. His...
and a contemporary of Delmira Agustini
Delmira Agustini
Delmira Agustini , a Uruguayan poet, is considered one of the greatest female Latin American poets of the early 20th century.-Background:Born in Montevideo, the daughter of Italian immigrants, Agustini was a precocious child...
and Julio Herrera y Reissig
Julio Herrera y Reissig
Julio Herrera y Reissig, was a Uruguayan poet, playwright and essayist, who began his career during the late Romanticist period and later became an early proponent of Modernism.-Background:...
. She was born and lived in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, the capital of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
.
She held a Chair in Literature at the Women's University. She suffered from mental illness and lost her reason some years before her death in 1924.
Her first volume of is entitled La isla de los canticos and consists of forty selected poems (and a single poem Unico poema added at her brother's insistence) which he published shortly after her death. A second volume, entitled La otra isla de los canticos, with a prologue by Emilio Oribe and containing a number of poems taken from her unpublished manuscripts, appeared in 1959 shortly after her brother's death. The modern Poesías Completas contains 112 poems.
Vaz Ferreira is regarded as a metaphysical poet who wrote emotive poems that speak of passion, death, hope, and the mysteries of love and existence.
She was also a musician, and the Lauro Ayestarán collection contains one of her manuscript scores with verses and music.
Contrasting myths have been built around her life. She has been idealised as, on the one hand, a type of consumptive virgin but, on the other hand, a Sandesque
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
cigar-smoking crossdresser notorious for practical jokes.
Posthumous works
- La isla de los canticos, 1925
- La otra isla de los canticos, Impresora Uruguaya, Montevideo, 1959
- Poesías Completas, Hugo J. Verani, Ediciones de la Plaza, 1986, 292 pp
External links
- Biography (in Spanish)
- Holocausto and Unico poema (in Spanish)