Image © Enrique Hernández D'Jesús
Location: Argentina
Juan Gelman
Juan Gelman (1930-2014) has been widely hailed as one of the greatest contemporary Spanish-language poets as well as Argentina’s poet laureate, publishing more than twenty books of poetry over the course of his lifetime. His numerous accolades include the National Poetry Prize (Argentina, 1997); the Juan Rulfo Prize in Latin American and Caribbean Literature (Mexico, 2000); the Pablo Neruda Prize (Chile, 2005); the Queen Sofia Prize in Ibero-American Poetry (Spain, 2005); and the Premio Leteo in 2012. In 2007, Gelman became the fourth Argentine to be awarded the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious Spanish-language literary award, following in the footsteps of Jorge Luis Borges, Ernesto Sabato and Adolfo Bioy Casares. In addition to his lifelong commitment to militancy and leftist-political activism, Gelman worked as a journalist and a translator for the United Nations in Argentina, Spain, France, and Italy.
