León de Greiff
León de Greiff was a Colombian poet and literary figure born on July 22, 1895, in Medellín. With a multicultural background—his father being Swedish and his mother of Prussian and Incan descent—he was exposed to diverse literary influences from a young age, particularly Nordic literature. Greiff began writing poetry at fifteen and became involved with an intellectual group in his twenties, which led to the founding of the literary magazine Panida, where he published under various pseudonyms, including Leo Legris.
His first poetry collection, *Tergiversaciones de Leo Legris*, was published in 1925 and is characterized by its use of a first-person voice across multiple characters. Throughout his life, he balanced his literary endeavors with work in an office to support his family, which included three children. Greiff's contributions to literature extended beyond poetry; he founded Radio Difusora Nacional and taught at the Universidad Nacional, while also engaging in cultural institutions.
He traveled extensively during the 1950s and 1960s, even spending four years in Sweden, where he was honored by the Swedish King. His eclectic style and playful use of language culminated in his final collection, *Nova et vetera*, published in 1974. Greiff passed away on July 11, 1976, and his legacy is honored through various literary awards, including the León Greiff Spanish-American Poetry Prize, established in 1956.
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Subject Terms
León de Greiff
Poet
- Born: July 22, 1895
- Birthplace: Medellín, Colombia
- Died: July 11, 1976
- Place of death: Bogotá, Columbia
Biography
León De Greiff was born on July 22, 1895, in Medellín, Colombia. His father, Luis de Greiff Obregón, was Swedish. His mother, Amalia Haessler Rincón, was of Prussian and Incan ancestry. He grew up reading Nordic literature and playing the bassoon. He began to write poetry at the age of fifteen; at the age of twenty, he began meeting with an intellectual and artistic group that met a coffeehouse. The group founded Panida, a literary magazine. Greiff served as editor and published in the magazine under the name Leo Legris, one of his many pseudonyms.
Greiff’s first collection of poetry, Tergiversaciones de Leo Legris, Matias Aldecoa, y Gasper: Primer mamotreto, 1915-1922 (distortions of Leo Legris, Matias Aldecoa, and Gasper: first thick volume, 1915-1922), was published in 1925. Typical of later poetry, the books adopts a first person voice of multiple characters. In 1927, Greiff married Matilde Bernal Nicholls; they had three children: Astrid, Hjalmar, and Axel. He supported his family by working during the day in an office. He wrote poetry at night. Variaciones alredor de nada: Curato mamotreto, a collection of erotic poems, was published in 1936.
Greiff founded Radio Difusora Nacional in 1940 and became professor of literature and composition at the engineering school of the Universidad Nacional. In 1944, he cofounded the Instituto Cultural Colombo-Soviético. The following year, he began working for the Ministario de Educatión Nacional. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, he traveled the world. He lived in Sweden for four years and was knighted by the Swedish King. His final collection, Nova et vetera (old and new), was published in 1974. He died July 11, 1976.
The León Greiff Spanish-American Poetry Prize was instituted in 1956. In 1970, Greiff won the First National Prize in Literature from the Colombian Institute of Culture. In 1971, he received the Jorge Zalamea Medal, the Symbolic Hatchet of Antioquia, the Star of Antioquia, and the General Civil Medal from the Education Ministry in Santander. In 1975, he received an honorary degree from the Universidad del Valle.
Belonging to no literary or artistic movement, León de Greiff is recognized for his eccentricity. His eclectic poetry is noted for its skillful, and sometimes playful, use of language; its sense of humor; and its musical references.