Image Courtesy: Google Doodle
Olga Orozco (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1999) was an Argentine poet and writer. She was a recipient of the FIL Award. She was known for her surrealist poetry, which explored themes of love, death, and spirituality.
Life and Career
She was born on 17 March 1920, in Toay, La Pampa, Argentina. Orozco grew up in a literary family, and her father was a writer and journalist. She began writing poetry at a young age and published her first collection, “Viaje olvidado” (Forgotten Journey), in 1948. Her poetry was often characterized by her use of surreal and dreamlike imagery, as well as her exploration of existential themes.
In addition to her poetry, Orozco was also a prolific writer of essays and literary criticism. She worked as a journalist and cultural commentator for many years, and her work was widely respected in Argentina and beyond.
Throughout her career, Orozco received many honors and awards for her contributions to literature, including the National Prize for Poetry in Argentina in 1968 and the Octavio Paz International Poetry and Essay Prize in 1996. She was also a member of the Argentine Academy of Letters and the National Academy of Arts and Letters.
Orozco continued to write and publish until her death on 15 August 1999, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her poetry and prose continue to be celebrated and studied by literary scholars and readers around the world, and her legacy as one of the most important writers of the 20th century in Latin America remains strong.
Award and Legacy
Olga Orozco’s contributions to literature and poetry have been widely recognized with numerous awards and honors. Some of the most notable of these include:
- National Prize for Poetry (Argentina, 1968)
- Octavio Paz International Poetry and Essay Prize (Mexico, 1996)
- Order of Merit for Culture (Argentina, 1997)
In addition to these awards, Orozco was also a member of the Argentine Academy of Letters and the National Academy of Arts and Letters, which demonstrates the high esteem in which she was held by her peers and the literary establishment.
Orozco’s legacy continues to be felt in the world of poetry and literature. Her work, characterized by its use of surrealist and dreamlike imagery, has been praised for its depth, complexity, and originality. Her poetry often explored themes of love, death, and spirituality, and her writing has been described as both profound and deeply moving. Her influence on Latin American literature, as well as on global literature more broadly, is significant, and her work remains a touchstone for readers and writers around the world.
On 17 March 2020, Google celebrated Olga Orozco’s 100th birthday with a doodle.