Esther Seligson (25 October 1941 – 8 February 2010) was a Mexican writer, poet, translator, and historian. She was an academic, with a wide range of interests including art, cultural history, Jewish philosophy, mythology, religion and theater. She published books, poems, short stories and translations. She won the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize and the Magda Donato Award for her literary contributions.

Biography

Esther Seligson was born 25 October 1941 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico, to a family of

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

. She wanted to be a dancer, but her parents were strongly opposed, so she began studying chemistry at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...

before changing her academic direction. Seligson studied Spanish and French Literature at the

(UNAM) and earned a Master's in art history at the (Institute of High Culture). She continued her studies at

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...

, focusing on history, the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and philosophy. Later, she studied Jewish culture at the (The University Center of Jewish Studies) in Paris and Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Seligson began publishing at the age of twenty-four in the and . She published, her first book, , a collection of stories, at twenty-eight and followed it with which won the 1973 (Xavier Villaurrutia Prize) from the National Council for Arts and Culture. One of her most important works is (1981), which evaluated the isolation of a Jewish believer throughout time. In her 1984 book, she looks at the body, the heart, lungs, stomach, as a lover, in a sensual discovery of their sensations. These were followed by (1989), which won the Magda Donato Award. She published many other works, mostly not for commercial audiences. Her last book, was finished three weeks before her death and was published posthumously. She taught theater history at the (University Center of Theater) at UNAM for twenty-five years and at the Centro de Estudios Hebraicos (Centre for Hebraic Studies). She also served as a guest lecturer at Centro de Arte Dramático A.C. (CADACP), (INBA), (INAH), (UAM), as well as many other institutions. She possessed a wide range of expertise and taught courses on art of the Middle Ages, comparative religion, cultural history, ideological history, Jewish philosophy, mythology, theater history, theatrical production and stagecraft. Throughout her career, Seligson collaborated in many newspapers and magazines in Mexico. She translated the work of Romanian philosopher Emile Michel Cioran; Egyptian Jewish poet, Edmond Jabès;

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (born Emanuelis Levinas ; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the rel ...

;

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

; and

Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, ; ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 190317 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and ...

, as well as others. She was made a fellow of the Mexican Center of Writers in 1969, served as project coordinator of the Directorate General of Popular Culture from 1977 to 1979 and was on the editorial board of the magazine ''Escénica'', published by UNAM. She enjoyed traveling, believing that "It's good to be wandering pilgrim. Feeling alien in every city where you live gives you more emotional contact." She journeyed to southern India, Paris, Prague, Tibet, and

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( ; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, the capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla� ...

. For a brief period, Seligson settled in Lisbon and later took up residence in Jerusalem. Seligson died 8 February 2010 in Mexico City, Mexico and was buried in the Panteón Israelita.

Selected works

The selection of works (in Spanish) follows the listing of the .

Essays

*', Plaza y Valdés, 1988. *''El teatro, festín efímero'', UAM, Cultura Universitaria, 1989. *''Escritura y el enigma de la otredad'', Ediciones Sin Nombre, 2000. *''Apuntes sobre Cioran'', FONCA/CONACULTA, La Centena, 2003. *''A campo traviesa'', FCE, Letras Mexicanas, 2005.

Novels and short stories

* (1969) *''Otros son los sueños'' (1973) *''La morada del tiempo'' (1981) *''Diálogos con el cuerpo'' (1981) *''Las figuraciones como método de escritura'' (1981) *''Sed de mar'' (1986) *''Luz de dos'' (1989) *''La fugacidad como método de escritura'' (1989) *''Los siete pecados capitales'' (colectivo) (1989) *''El teatro, festín efímero'' (1990) *''Indicios y quimeras, isomorfismos'' (1991) *''A campo traviesa'' (2005) *''Toda la luz'' (2006) *''Todo aquí es polvo'' (2010, released posthumously)

Poems

*' (1977) *''De sueños, presagios y otras voces'' (1978) *''Rescoldos'' (2000) *''Simiente'' (2003) *''Alba marina'' (2005) *''Oración del retorno'' (tikun) (2006) *''A los pies de un Buda sonriente'' (2007) *''Negro es su rostro'' (2010)

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seligson, Esther 1941 births 2010 deaths Mexican Jews Mexican women poets Mexican feminist writers Writers from Mexico City Jewish feminists Jewish poets Jewish women writers National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni University of Paris alumni University of Bordeaux alumni 20th-century Mexican poets 20th-century Mexican women writers Xavier Villaurrutia Award winners