Ricardo Jaimes Freyre
Ricardo Jaimes Freyre (1866-1933) was a significant Peruvian-born Bolivian poet, educator, and diplomat, recognized as a prominent figure in the Latin American Modernismo movement. Born in Tacna, Peru, he was the son of a Bolivian consul and a noted Peruvian writer. His literary career began early, with his first significant work, *Castalia bárbara*, published in 1899, which integrated themes from Norse and Greek mythology with personal reflections. This book established him alongside contemporaries like Leopoldo Lugones and Rubén Darío as a key contributor to Modernismo.
Jaimes Freyre's academic contributions included teaching literature in Argentina and publishing influential works such as *Leyes de la versificación castellana* in 1912, which provided innovative insights into verse measurement. His diplomatic career spanned several roles, including minister of education in Bolivia and ambassador to the United States. After the death of his wife in 1927, he returned to Argentina to focus on his writing. His poetry and other works remain largely underexplored in English, suggesting potential for greater recognition in the future within the context of Latin American literature.
Subject Terms
Ricardo Jaimes Freyre
Peruvian-born Bolivian poet, nonfiction writer, teacher, and diplomat.
- Born: May 16, 1866
- Birthplace: Bolivian Consulate, Tacna, Peru
- Died: April 4, 1933
- Place of death: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Biography
Ricardo Jaimes Freyre was born on May 16, 1866, in Tacna, Peru, although there is some dispute over the date. His father, Julio Lucas Jaimes, was the Bolivian consul in Tacna, and his mother, Carolina Jaimes Freyre, was a noted Peruvian writer. He attended schools in Lima before the family’s return to Bolivia. He married in 1886 and began teaching philosophy in 1890 at the Colegio Junín. He began his writing career early, publishing a long poem in a Bolivian newspaper when he was seventeen.
From 1892 to 1894, he served as the Bolivian president’s personal secretary before becoming his father’s secretary. Jaimes Freyre accompanied his father when he was named Bolivian ambassador to Brazil; however, turmoil in Brazil led to their diversion to Buenos Aires, Argentina. While in Argentina, he met the famous Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío. The two founded the important journal Revista de América.
In 1899, Jaimes Freyre published his first book, Castalia bárbara. In this book, Jaimes Freyre explores the world of Norse and Greek mythology while also considering his own life. Although Jaimes Freyre was a well-known poet through his publications in journals and newspapers, this book launched him to forefront of the Latin American Modernismo movement, along with Leopoldo Lugones and Darío.
In 1900, Jaimes Freyre moved to Tucumán, Argentina, where began teaching literature at the Colegio Nacional de Tucumán. While there, he founded the Revista de Letras y Ciencias Sociales. Later, he taught in the Escuela Normal at Tucumán University. He later undertook a historical study of Tucumán resulting in several books.
Jaimes Freyre’s most noted book, Leyes de la versificación castellana, was published in 1912. In this book, Jaimes Freyre examined in depth a method for measuring verse. His approach was both innovative and unprecedented. Jaimes Freyre published his second book of poetry, Los sueños son vida, in 1917, and it further established him as an important Modernist poet.
In 1921, Jaimes Freyre returned to his native Bolivia to assume the post of minister of education, agriculture, and war. Shortly thereafter, he became Bolivia’s representative to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. He later served as Bolivian minister to Chile, and ambassador to the United States, where he lived in Washington, D.C., until 1927. When his wife died in that year, he returned to Argentina and resumed his literary career with a historical drama, published in 1928. Jaimes Freyre died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1933.
Jaimes Freyre’s achievements as an educator, diplomat, and writer are many. Most notably, his poetry serves as a prime example of the Latin American Modernismo movement and is generally included in any anthology of Latin American poetry. Much of his work remains unexplored by English-speaking audiences, and it is likely to receive future critical attention when editions become available.
Author Works
Drama:
La hija de Jefthé. Drama en 2 actos y en prosa, 1889
Los conquistadores. Drama histórico en tres actos y en verso, 1928
Nonfiction:
Tucumán en 1810, 1907
Historia de la Republica de Tucuman, 1911
Leyes de la versificacion castellana, 1912
El Tucuman del siglo XVI, bajo el gobierno de Juan Ramirez de Velasco, 1914
El Tucumán colonial, 1915
Historia del descubrimiento de Tucuman, seguida de investigaciones historicas, 1916
Poetry:
Castalia bárbara, 1899
Los sueños son vida; Anadiomena; Las victimas, 1917
Poesias completas, 1944
Poemas, 1974
Bibliography
Arrington, Melvin S., Jr. “Ricardo Jaimes Freyre 1868–1933.” Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature, edited by Verity Smith, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997, pp. 445–46. A brief overview of his life and work.
Carrilla, Emilio. Ricardo Jaimes Freyre, America, 1963. A biography.
Gonzalez Echevarría Roberto, and Enrique Pupo-Walker, editors. “Ricardo Jaimes Freyre.” The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature, vol. 2. Cambridge UP, 1996, pp. 52–54. A few pages devoted to Freyre appear in the chapter “Modernist Poetry.”
Scott, Robert. “The Visual Artistry of Ricardo Jaimes Freyre's ‘En las montañas.’” Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 28, no. 2, 1991, pp. 195+. Discusses one of Jaimes Freyre’s few short stories, arguing that his narrative ability has been overlooked.