Delmira Agustini
Delmira Agustini was a prominent Uruguayan poet born on October 24, 1886, in Montevideo, known for her significant contributions to Latin American Modernist poetry. Raised in a highly intellectual family, she exhibited prodigious talent from a young age, eventually gaining recognition for her literary work. Agustini's first poetry collection, "El libro blanco (Frágil)" published in 1907, marked her rise to fame, partly fueled by her youth and beauty, which led to her being affectionately nicknamed "La nena" or "The Baby." Her poetry, often characterized by its passionate eroticism and bold imagery, sparked controversy and polarizing opinions among critics; while some celebrated her work for its hypnotic qualities, others criticized it for being overly focused on sexuality.
In her personal life, Agustini faced turmoil, marrying Enrique Job Reyes in 1913 but seeking a divorce shortly after. Tragically, her life was cut short when Reyes murdered her on July 6, 1914, before taking his own life, leaving her legacy to be fully realized posthumously. Her fourth collection, "Los astros del abismo," was published a decade later, alongside compilations of her complete works. Agustini's poetry continues to resonate today, with translations and collections ensuring her voice remains a vital part of the literary landscape.
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Subject Terms
Delmira Agustini
Uruguayan poet and journalist.
- Born: October 24, 1886
- Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Died: July 6, 1914
- Place of death: Montevideo, Uruguay
Biography
Delmira Agustini was born on October 24, 1886, in Montevideo, Uruguay, a child prodigy in a highly intellectual family which devoted itself to her artistic development. She is considered an important Latin American Modernist poet, although during her brief lifetime she inspired much controversy due to her poetry’s passionately erotic themes.
At a young age, Agustini wrote a column for the literary journal La alborada, under the pseudonym “Joujou.” Soon her first book of poetry, El libro blanco (Frágil) (1907), brought her fame and success in the Spanish-speaking world, a fame perhaps aided by her much- remarked youth and beauty. In fact, she was nicknamed La nena, “The Baby,” and seemed to cultivate a deliberate infantilism. However, when her second and third collections were published, critical reactions began to fluctuate. Some praised her “hypnotic imagery and bold sexuality”; others regarded her poetry as “uninspired in form, enigmatic in content” and as “sexually obsessed.” However, her deep spiritual desires were as evident as the erotic within her poetry.
In 1913, Agustini married Enrique Job Reyes and announced plans for her fourth collection of poetry. However, within a few weeks, she asked for a divorce. Eventually her estranged husband murdered her by gunshot before killing himself, on July 6, 1914, in Montevideo. She was twenty-seven years old. Her fourth book, Los astros del abismo (1924) was published posthumously a decade later, along with a collection of her complete works and previously unpublished material. In 1993, another complete compilation, Poesías completas, appeared. Alejandro Cáceres, a scholar who has written much about Agustini, published an English translation of her selected poetry in 2003.
Author Works
Poetry:
El libro blanco Frágil, 1907
Los cálices vacíos: Poesías, 1913
El rosario de Eros, 1914
Obras completas de Delmira Agustini, 1924 (2 volumes; includes El rosario de Eros and Los astros del abismo)
Por campos de ensueño, 1927
Obras poéticas, 1940
Poesías completas, 1993
Selected Poetry of Delmira Agustini: Poetics of Eros, 2003
Bibliography
James, William. Dependence, Independence, and Death: Toward a Psychobiography of Delmira Agustini. Peter Lang, 2009. A biography that looks at the connections between Agustini's life and the themes of her poetry.
Jrade, Cathy L. Delmira Agustini, Sexual Seduction, and Vampiric Conquest. Yale UP, 2012. An in-depth analysis of Agustini's works focused on both their treatment of sexuality and their expression of poetic ambition.
Varas, Patricia. "Modernism or Modernismo? Delmira Agustini and the Gendering of Turn-of-the-Century Spanish-American Poetry." Modernism, Gender, and Culture: A Cultural Studies Approach, edited by Lisa Rado, 1997, pp. 149–60. An article examining how Agustini carved a place for herself in a male-dominated poetic movement.