Elvio Romero (1926–2004) was a Paraguayan poet, active in the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life

Elvio Romero was born in Yegros,

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in 1926. At a young age he became associated with fellow Paraguayan literary figures Hérib Campos Cervera,

Josefina Plá María Josefina Teodora Plá Guerra Galvany (9 November 1903 in Isla de Lobos, Canary Islands, Spain – 11 January 1999 in Asunción, Paraguay) was a Spanish-born Paraguayan poet, playwright, journalist, art critic, sculptor, ceramicist, an ...

, and

Augusto Roa Bastos Augusto Roa Bastos (13 June 1917 – 26 April 2005) was a Paraguayan novelist and short story writer. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. ...

Career

A Communist militant, Romero was forced into exile in Argentina alongside many others after the end of Paraguayan Civil War in 1947, at the age of 20. His time in exile was a strong theme in Romero's subsequent work. He returned to Paraguay after General

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

fell from power, and worked in numerous diplomatic posts, including the Paraguayan embassy in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. He also performed editorial work and gave recitals and conferences in various cultural centres around the Americas and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The Guatemalan novelist

Miguel Ángel Asturias Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; 19 October 1899 – 9 June 1974) was a Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, his work helped bring attention to the importance of i ...

, winner of the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

in 1967, wrote the introduction for Romero's book ''El sol bajo las raices''. As an essayist, he wrote "

Miguel Hernández Miguel Hernández Gilabert (30 October 1910 – 28 March 1942 ) was a 20th-century Spanish-language poet and playwright associated with the Generation of '27 and the Generation of '36 movements. Born and raised in a family of low resources, he ...

, destiny and poetry" and "El poeta y sus encrucijadas" (1991), which won Paraguay's National Prize for Literature. He also collaborated with the newspaper ''Ultima Hora'', of

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

, and various cultural publications in Argentina. He died in May 2004 in

Poetic works

References

''Centro Cultural de la República El Cabildo''
* ''Diccionario Biográfico Forjadores del Paraguay'', Primera Edición Enero de 2000. Distribuidora Quevedo de Ediciones. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

External links

Epdlp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Elvio Paraguayan communists 20th-century Paraguayan poets Paraguayan male poets 1926 births 2004 deaths