Francisco Matos Paoli
Francisco Matos Paoli was a prominent Puerto Rican poet and essayist known for his deep commitment to advocating for Puerto Rican independence. Born in 1915 in Lares, Puerto Rico, a city with historical significance for its role in the Grito de Lares revolt against Spanish colonial rule, Paoli emerged as a significant literary and political figure. He was educated in the classics and became involved with the Nationalist Party, where he eventually served as secretary. After completing his degree in Spanish in 1941, he held various educational roles, including a professorship at the University of Puerto Rico and co-director of Hostos College.
Paoli's activism led to his arrest in 1950 for seditious speech, resulting in a prison sentence that was later reduced. His experiences during imprisonment significantly influenced his writing, leading to the publication of several works, including "Luz del los héroes." Following a mental health crisis during his incarceration, he turned to spiritualism, establishing a spiritualist center after his release. Over his lifetime, he received numerous accolades for his literary contributions, publishing nearly fifty books of poetry by the time of his death in 2000. Paoli's legacy reflects a profound intertwining of literature, politics, and spirituality, marking him as an influential figure in Puerto Rican culture.
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Francisco Matos Paoli
- Born: March 9, 1915
- Birthplace: Lares, Puerto Rico
- Died: July 10, 2000
- Place of death: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Biography
Francisco Matos Paoli, a poet and essayist nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977, was born appropriately in Lares, Puerto Rico, the city known for its annual Grito de Lares, a festival celebrating its importance as the site of a revolt against the Spanish colonialists. Paoli, famed for his advocacy of Puerto Rican independence from the United States, was born in 1915, one of nine children. After his mother’s death when he was fifteen, he spent most of his childhood on a farm. In high school he studied the classics and met Pedro Albizu Campos, who was involved in the fight for independence. Paoli joined the Nationalist Party and eventually served as its secretary.
He completed his high school education in 1937 and then majored in Spanish at the Polytechnical School of the University of Puerto Rico, graduating in 1941. After graduation he worked as a translator and served as the librettist for the Department of Education, where he created radio programs for public schools. In 1942, he married Isabel Freire Meléndez, whom he had met at the university, and became codirector of Hostos College, which his wife had founded. In 1943, he became a professor in the humanities department at the University of Puerto Rico, where he taught literature classes. In 1945, he was named director of literary studies at the Puerto Rican Atheneum. On a grant, he traveled to Paris to study comparative literature, but political problems in Puerto Rico brought him home in 1948.
At the university he taught, published his poems, and gave nationalistic speeches. After a Nationalist Party uprising, he was arrested in 1950 for giving seditious speeches at four cities. The following year he was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment and shared a cell with Campos; Paoli’s sentence later was reduced to five years. While he was in prison, he edited a newspaper and wrote Luz del los héroes, a collection of poems.
He also had a serious mental breakdown and was committed to a mental institution. While there, he studied spiritualism and became profoundly religious, eventually founding a spiritualist center, Luz y Progreso. After his release from the mental hospital he became a lecturer and writer-in-residence at the University of Puerto Rico. Paoli won many awards, including the Poetry Prize from the Puerto Rican Atheneum, 1949; the Institute of Puerto Rico Prize, 1949; the International Certificate in Poetry from the University of Colorado, 1981; the José Vassomelos Prize from Mexico, 1986; and the Prometheus Prize from Spain in 1987. When he died in 2000, he had published almost fifty books of poetry, but even more of his work remained unpublished.