Small taste of Chilean writers and poetry part I · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Chile is well known as a country of poets, including Nobel Prize Winners Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1945) and Pablo Neruda, one of the most influential poets of the 20th century (1971).
Gabriela Mistral (ES) was not only a poet, she was also a public school teacher and a revolutionary as well. She worked hard to change the way Chileans understand education. In 1922 she receive an invitation to work for the Mexican government in order to help develop educational reforms. Here is a sample of her work, from the poem “Rocking”(ES).
El mar sus millares de olas
mece, divino.
Oyendo a los mares amantes,
mezo a mi niño.
El viento errabundo en la noche
mece los trigos.
Oyendo a los vientos amantes,
mezo a mi niño.
Dios Padre sus miles de mundos
mece sin ruido.
Sintiendo su mano en la sombra
mezo a mi niño
The wander wind in the night,
Rock the wheat
Hearing the lovers wind,
I rock my child.
God, father and his thousand worlds,
Rock without sound,
Feeling his hand on the shadow
I rock my child.
Another well-known Chilean writer is Isabel Allende (ES). She has received more than 20 awards in various countries and 16 books, which have been translated into more than 10 languages. Pablo Neruda (ES) was also both a well known poet and well known for his political involvement.
New generations have since arrived. To have an updated taste, here is a post from Lizia (ES) with some pieces of a poem by Armando Uribe (ES) called “No hay Lugar”, There's no place.
“Te amo y te odio. Dirás: Cómo es posible. No sé. yo te amo y te odio […]
Lo que amo en ella no tiene edad, no ha nacido […]
No te amo, amo los celos que te tengo, son lo único tuyo que me queda, los celos y la rabia que te tengo, hidrófobo de ti me ahogo en vino. […]
No te amo, amo mis celos, esos celos son lo único tuyo que me queda. Cuando desaparezca en esos cielos de odio te ladraré porque no vienes. […]
La soledad me toma de los pies -como la muerte- y me hace entrar a un mausoleo polvoriento donde juego a las bolitas de mentira […]
What I love in her has no age, was not born […]
I don’t love you, I love my jealousy, this jealousy is all that you left me, the jealousy and rabidity, hydrophobic, I drown myself in wine […]
I don’t love you, I love my jealousy, this jealousy is all that you left me. When I disappear into those skies of hate, I will bark at you for not coming. […]
The loneliness took me from my feet- like death – and makes me enter a dusty mausoleum where I play little balls of deceit […]
Chilean bloggers like Miguel de Loyola (ES) and Roberto Fuentes (ES) are traditional writers that have published their works on the web. (Writers 2.0?) Also, Literus (ES) is small movement that that hopes to encourage conversations about literature and poetry. The blog is maintained by the attendees of a poetry course, led by renowned Chilean poet Raul Zurita. Paolo Astorga, also a poet, published an a interview [ES] with Zurita from last December.