José Emilio Pacheco Berny (June 30, 1939 – January 26, 2014) was a Mexican poet,
essayist
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal an ...
,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...
and
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
writer. He is regarded as one of the major Mexican poets of the second half of the 20th century. The
Berlin International Literature Festival
The Berlin International Literature Festival (german: internationales literaturfestival berlin) or ''ilb'' is an annual event based in Berlin. Every September, the festival presents contemporary poetry, prose, nonfiction, graphic novels and inte ...
has praised him as "one of the most significant contemporary Latin American poets". In 2009 he was awarded the
Cervantes Prize
The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language.
History
The prize was established in 197 ...
for his literary oeuvre.
He taught at
UNAM
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
, as well as the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
, the
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...
, and many others in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
He died aged 74 in 2014 after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Awards

He was awarded the following prizes:
Premio Cervantes
The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language.
History
The prize was established in 1975 ...
2009,
Reina Sofía Award (2009),
Federico García Lorca Award (2005),
Octavio Paz Award (2003),
Pablo Neruda Award (2004),
Ramón López Velarde Award Ramón or Ramon may refer to:
People Given name
*Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer
* Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...
(2003),
Alfonso Reyes International Prize The Alfonso Reyes International Prize is a Mexican award given for meritorious lifetime contributions to literary research and criticism. It was founded in 1972 by the economist turned author/critic, Francisco Zendejas and was named in honor of Alf ...
(2004),
José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature (Spanish: Premio Nacional de Literatura José Fuentes Mares or simply Premio José Fuentes Mares) is a Mexican literary award that has been presented annually since 1985 by the Universidad Autónoma ...
(2000),
National José Asunción Silva Poetry Award (1996), and
Xavier Villaurrutia Prize. In 2013 he was awarded the
Golden Wreath of the
Struga Poetry Evenings
Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) ( mk, Струшки вечери на поезијата, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several deca ...
festival in
Struga
Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.
Name
The n ...
,
Macedonia
Macedonia most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
.
He was elected by unanimous acclaim to the Mexican Academy (''
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the corr ...
'') on March 28, 2006. He was a member of The National College (''
El Colegio Nacional'') since 1986.
Works
Poetry
* ''Los elementos de la noche'' (1963)
* ''El reposo del fuego'' (1966)
* ''No me preguntes cómo pasa el tiempo'' (1970)
* ''Irás y no volverás'' (1973)
* ''Islas a la deriva'' (1976)
* ''Desde entonces'' (1979)
* ''Los trabajos del mar'' (1983)
* ''Miro la tierra'' (1987)
* ''Selected Poems'', ed. George McWhirter (1987, in English)
* ''Ciudad de la memoria'' (1990)
* ''El silencio de la luna'' (1996)
* ''City of Memory and Other Poems'', trans. David Lauer, Cynthia Steele (1997, in English)
* ''La arena errante'' (1999)
* ''Siglo pasado'' (2000)
* ''Tarde o temprano: Poemas 1958-2009'' (2009, Complete Poetry)
* ''Como la lluvia'' (2009)
* ''La edad de las tinieblas'' (2009)
* ''El espejo de los ecos'' (2012)
Novel and short stories
* ''El viento distante y otros relatos'' (1963)
* ''Morirás lejos'' (1967)
* ''El principio del placer'' (1972)
* ''La sangre de Medusa'' (1977)
* ''
Las batallas en el desierto'' (1981)
* ''Battles in the Desert & Other Stories'', trans. Katherine Silver (1987, in English)
Further reading
''English:''
*Modern Spanish American poets. Second series / María Antonia Salgado, 2004
*José Emilio Pacheco and the poets of the shadows / Ronald J Friis, 2001
*Out of the volcano: portraits of contemporary Mexican artists / Margaret Sayers Peden, 1991
*Tradition and renewal: essays on twentieth-century Latin American literature and culture / Merlin H Forster, 1975
*The turning tides: the poetry of José Emilio Pacheco / Mary Kathryn Docter, 1991
* ''Jose Emilio Pacheco: Selected Poems'' / Ed. George McWhirter, New Directions,1987
*Time in the poetry of José Emilio Pacheco: images, themes, poetics / Judith Roman Topletz, 1983
''Spanish:''
*José Emilio Pacheco : perspectivas críticas / Hugo J Verani, 2006
*Ensoñación cósmica : poética de El reposo de fuego de José Emilio Pacheco / Betina Bahía Diwan, 2004
*Dilemas de la poesía de fin de siglo : José Emilio Pacheco y Jaime Saenz / Elizabeth Pérez, 2001
*José Emilio Pacheco : poeta y cuentista posmoderno / José de Jesús Ramos, 1992
*El papel del lector en la novela mexicana contemporánea: José Emilio Pacheco/ Magda Graniela-Rodríguez, 1991
*José Emilio Pacheco : poética y poesía del prosaísmo / Daniel Torres, 1990
*La hoguera y el viento : José Emilio Pacheco ante la crítica / Hugo J Verani, 1987
*José Emilio Pacheco / Luis Antonio de Villena, 1986
*Ficción e historia : la narrativa de José Emilio Pacheco / Yvette Jiménez de Báez, 1979
References
External links
*
José Emilio Pacheco(at
El Colegio Nacional)
Essay on Pachecofrom The Quarterly Conversation
Essay on Pacheco's Batallas en el desiertoJosé Emilio Pacheco recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on Jan. 16, 1976
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Jose Emilio
1939 births
2014 deaths
Mexican male novelists
20th-century Mexican poets
20th-century Mexican male writers
Mexican male poets
Mexican essayists
Male essayists
Mexican male short story writers
Mexican short story writers
Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico)
National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
Academics of the University of Essex
Writers from Mexico City
Members of the Mexican Academy of Language
Premio Cervantes winners
Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath laureates
20th-century Mexican novelists
20th-century short story writers
20th-century essayists