Alfonsina Storni
Alfonsina Storni was a significant Argentine poet, born on May 29, 1892, in Switzerland, who later immigrated to Argentina with her family. Following her father's death in 1906, she took on work in a hat factory to support her family and soon ventured into theater. Storni earned a teacher's diploma in 1911 and began teaching in Rosario while navigating complex personal circumstances, including being an unwed mother. Her poetic career began with the publication of "La inquietude del rosal" in 1916, characterized by confessional love poetry and early feminist themes. She contributed to journalism under the pseudonym Tao Lao and later explored children's theater and experimental poetry, particularly in her 1934 work "Mundo de siete pozos." Despite her literary success, Storni faced struggles with mental health and health issues, ultimately leading to her tragic suicide in 1938. Recognized as one of the first Latin feminist writers, her work continues to resonate, highlighting themes of gender, class, and social justice.
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Alfonsina Storni
Poet
- Born: May 29, 1892
- Birthplace: Sala Capriasca, Switzerland
- Died: October 25, 1938
- Place of death: Mar del Plata, Argentina
Biography
Alfonsina Storni was born May 29, 1892, in Sala Capriasca, Switzerland. Her father, Alfonso Storni, manufactured beer. Her mother was named Paula Martignoni Storni. In 1896, her family immigrated to Argentina. When her father died in 1906, she worked in a hat factory in order to help support her family. The following year, she began traveling with a theater group. She returned to school, earning a teacher’s diploma in 1911. Following graduation, she taught at an elementary school in Rosario. Pregnant with the child of a married man, she moved in 1912 to Buenos Aires, where her son, Alejandro Alfonso, was soon born.
While writing her first collection of poetry, La inquietude del rosal (the disquietude of the roses), published in 1916, Storni worked odd jobs in offices and factories. Typical of her early writing, this collection, written in a confessional mode, consists largely of erotic love poems. She was also a journalist. A feminist, Storni published many sketches devoted to the interests of women under the pseudonym of Tao Lao in the newspaper La Nación.
In 1921, she began teaching drama at the Lebarden Children’s Theater. Teatro infantil, published in 1950, is a collection of children’s plays that she wrote for her students. She returned to poetry with the 1934 publication of Mundo de siete pozos (world of seven wells). Her later poetry departs from the use of traditional forms. In addition, this experimental poetry adopts a more objective stance as well as an ironic tone.
Storni experienced periodic episodes of depression. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1935, she feared at the end of her life that the cancer had spread to her lungs. She committed suicide by drowning in Mar del Plata, Argentina October 25, 1938.
Storni was awarded the 1917 Premio Anual del Consejo Nacional de Mujeres. In 1920, she won both First Municipal Prize and Second National Prize for her collection Languidez.
A widely read, popular author, Alfonsina Storni struggled with the obstacles of gender, class, and education, as well as her social status as an unwed mother. Ironically, she is recognized for her unconventionality and her position as one of the first Latin feminist writers. Her first edition appeared in English in 1975.