José Antonio Ramos Sucre
José Antonio Ramos Sucre was a Venezuelan poet, linguist, and scholar, born on June 9, 1890, in Cumaná, Venezuela. He received early education in Cumaná and later studied Latin and Greek under his uncle's guidance in Carupano. Following the death of his father, he returned to Cumaná and eventually earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy before obtaining a doctorate in political science from Central University in Caracas in 1917. Despite his extensive linguistic abilities, including proficiency in multiple languages, his poetic works published during the 1920s received a tepid response, as they did not align with contemporary literary trends.
Ramos Sucre also held academic positions and worked as a judge, but his heavy workload took a toll on his health. He served in the Venezuelan consulate in Geneva and later spent time in a sanatorium in Italy due to health issues. Tragically, he passed away in June 1930 from a veronal overdose, having largely gone unrecognized during his lifetime. Posthumously, he gained critical acclaim in the 1950s, with his poetry being celebrated for its unique qualities, leading to publications of his collected works and the establishment of a chair in his honor at the University of Salamanca, marking a significant resurgence of interest in his contributions to Venezuelan literature.
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José Antonio Ramos Sucre
Poet
- Born: June 9, 1890
- Birthplace: Cumaná, Venezuela
- Died: June 1, 1930
Biography
José Antonio Ramos Sucre, the son of Don Jero’nimo Branches Martinez and Doña Rita Sucre Moor, was born June 9, 1890, in Cumaná, Venezuela, where he received his early education. At the age of ten he went to Carupano, where his uncle Dr. Jose Antonio Branches Martinez served as his trustee. In Carupano he began to study Latin and Greek, but his studies were cut short in 1903, when his father died. In 1904 he returned to Cumaná, where he enrolled at the National School of Don Jose Silverio González Varela. Six years later, he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and then continued his education at Central University in Caracas, where he renewed his study of Latin and Greek. An accomplished linguist, he also acquired a knowledge of French, English, Italian, and German; he learned Danish in only four months. In 1916, he took his examinations and a year later received his doctorate in political science.
After graduation and while working as a translator and interpreter at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ramos Sucre studied Swedish and Dutch. In 1921, he published his first book of poetry, Trizas de papel, which was followed in 1923 by Sobre las huellas de Humboldt. During the 1920’s, he continued to publish his poems: La torre de Timón (1925) and El cielo de esmalte (1929). Unfortunately, the response to his work was lukewarm at best, since he was out of step with the prevailing trends in poetry. During the 1920’s, he also worked in academics, assuming the chairs of world history and geography, the history and geography of Venezuela, as well as Latin and Greek, and also worked as a judge. He was a workaholic whose fragile health did not tolerate such a heavy workload, and he was in ill health much of the time.
As a result of his linguistic skills and education, he was sent to Geneva, Switzerland, where he was put in charge of the consulate. Because he was suffering from insomnia and a nervous disorder, he had to spend some time in the Stephanie Sanatorium in Merano, Italy. When he died in June of 1930 of a veronal overdose, he had never received the critical accolades he deserved. It was not until the 1950’s that the quality of his poetry was recognized.
In 1956, the Ministry of Education published his collected works in the Venezuelan Popular Library editions. Not until the 1960’s, however, did Venezuelan literary critics publicly praise his work for its melancholy, ambiguity, and hallucinatory qualities. Since then his work was published by Avila Mount Publishing (1069 and 1985), his poems have been translated into Portuguese by Jose Bento and published as Forms do Fogo (1992), and the University of Salamanca has established a chair in his honor. It is truly a case of long-overdue recognition at last being granted to a skilled poet and an accomplished linguist.