Martín Adán (

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, October 27, 1908 - January 29, 1985), pseudonym of Rafael de la Fuente Benavides, was a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

whose body of work is notable for its

hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretism, syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system e ...

and

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

depth. From a very young age Adán demonstrated great literary talent (talent he shared with classmates Emilio Adolfo Westphalen ( ES) and Estuardo Núñez ( ES)). As time passed, he lived with increasing economic difficulty and suffered from serious alcoholism. A good part of his final years were spent in sanitariums, until his death in 1985. The American

Beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

showed interest in Adán's work and in the writer himself. Taking advantage of his trip to Peru where he planned to study the

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

, Ginsberg was able to interview Martín Adán. He attended the

Deutsche Schule Alexander von Humboldt Lima ''Deutsche Schule Alexander von Humboldt Lima'' () is a German international school with two campuses in Lima, Peru: one in Miraflores and one in Surco, with a recreational centre in Huampaní. The school serves levels from Kindergarten through ...

(Colegio Peruano-Alemán Alexander von Humboldt).Novak, Fabián. ''Las relaciones entre el Perú y Alemania, 1828-2003'' (Serie Política exterior peruana).

Fondo Editorial PUCP Fondo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about north of Trento, precisely at the northern limit of the Val di Non. Fondo borders the following municipalities: Bre ...

, 2004. , 9789972426346. p
45
He made his first studies entering to the school at San Jose de Cluny of Barranco. He was educated at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

(UNMSM) and also at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP).

Work

Martín Adan's first book was the novel ''La casa de cartón'' (''The Cardboard House''). Published in 1928 when the author was only 20 years old, ''The Cardboard House'' was influenced by the

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and is one of the best examples of Peruvian narrative of its time. The novel was told through the paintings of a young man's experiences and reflections and was notable for evoking the district of Lima, Barranco. ''The Cardboard Houses innovative theme and structure can, in some ways, be considered precursorial to novels of the literary boom in Latin America. The remainder of Adán's work was

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. It stands out for a profundity of philosophical reflection, that sinks into the mysteries of what is eternal and transcendent. His poetry incorporates a series of images and hermetic, symbolic

metaphors A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

(among them, notably, the

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

). Adán's poetry mixes novel uses of language with traditional poetic forms like the

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

. Reality and identity are also common themes in his poetry. With his body of poetry, Adán tried to achieve a "''creación total''" (total creation) through "''la poesía absoluta''" (absolute poetry) and affirm the divine power and omnipotence of the poet who creates realities.

Books of poetry

*''La Rosa de la Espinela'' / (1939) *''Sonetos a la Rosa'' (1931-1942) *''Travesía de Extramares'' (1950) *''Escrito a Ciegas'' (1961) *''La Mano Desasida, Canto a

Machupicchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at . Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the ...

'' (1964) *''La Piedra Absoluta'' (1966) *''Mi Darío'' (1966-1967) *''Diario de Poeta'' (1966-1973) *''Antología'' (1989)

References

Sources

*This entry was created as a translation of Martín Adán's entry in the Spanish Language Wikipedia.
Martín Adán
recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division's audio literary archive on September 13, 1958. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adan, Martin 1908 births 1985 deaths Peruvian people of Spanish descent 20th-century Peruvian poets Writers from Lima Peruvian male poets Peruvian novelists Peruvian male novelists 20th-century Peruvian male writers National University of San Marcos alumni 20th-century pseudonymous writers Benavides family

Work

Books of poetry

See also

References

Sources