Writers, Poets and Intellectuals  (Page 1 of 3)

Writers, Poets and Intellectuals
(Arranged by date of birth)

Luis Vargas Tejada (1802-1829) – Writer, playwright and dramatist.
The outstanding writer of fables and plays and author of the comedy The Convulsions, (a burlesque critic to the society at the beginning of the 19th century), Vargas Tejada was one of the pioneers of the burlesque theatre in Colombia.
He was also the author of tragedies and dramas such as Sugamuxi and Doraminta, political fables and lyrical poetry.

Josefa Acevedo de Gómez (1803-1861) – Writer.
Prolific author of customs and life of the nation, her best-known book is titled Pictures of the Private Life of Some Granadinos Copied from Real Life for Enjoyment and Entertainment.
Among her didactic works are Treatise on Home Economy and Essay about the Duties of Married People. Her book of poetry is called Poems of a Granadina.

José Manuel Marroquín (1827-1908) – Politician, writer, poet and professor.
He was a very distinguished politician and a man of letters. He was elected President of the Republic, serving from 1900 to 1904, a correspondent member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one of the founders of The Colombian Academy of Language.
He was a didactic author, novelist, writer of fables and poet. He wrote philosophical and local customs books. His works include the Complete Treatise on Spanish Orthography and the novel The Moorish.
Many of his works were written in prose and in verse with a humorous style. His best-known rhymes are: The hunters and the puppy.
Marroquín used in his writings the pseudonyms "Gonzalo González de la Gonzalera", "Pedro Pérez de Perales" and "El parlanchín entretenido".

José María Vergara y Vergara (1831-1872) – Writer and poet.
José María Vergara is among the most important writers of the 19th Century. He not only wrote about local customs, but he was a novelist and one of the first Colombian historians.
He was one of the founders of the Colombian Academy of Language and served as its first president. He founded El Mosaico and La Siesta newspapers. He authored the History of the Literature in the New Granada, and The Three Cups and Other Stories , his masterpiece about customs and stories of Bogota.

Rafael Pombo (1833-1912) – Poet, writer, translator and journalist.
This famous writer earned a degree in Mathematics and Engineering and was the abiding Secretary of the Colombian Academy of Language.
He wrote children's tales – all in rhyme! Painted Tales is his best-known work. He was a polyglot and translated the best-known Portuguese, Italian, French, American and English writers' works.
He was the author of fables, philosophical books, romantic and patriotic writings such as The Hour of Darkness, Original Sin, Spring Prelude and The Tomb of Ricaurte. He was honoured with "The National Poet" distinction in 1912.

Soledad Acosta de Samper (1833-1913) – Writer.
She was one of the most prominent female authors on the American Continent.
At the tender age of twelve, she went to study to Halifax (Canada) and then moved to Paris where she began to bring to light her first works under various pseudonyms. She returned to her hometown Bogota in 1855 where she published some of her writings at the Young Ladies Library and in El Mosaico magazine.
She founded newspaper serials such as Woman and Readings for Home. Her works include Novels and Pictures of the South American Life, The Woman's Heart , Light and Shadow and Stories of Two Families.

Ezequiel Uricoechea (1834-1880) – Philologist and humanist.
Uricoechea was a true expert on the different languages and cultures of the natives. His book Grammar, Vocabulary, Catechism and Confessional of the Chibcha Tongue, was published in Paris.
He also wrote other important works, including Paez-Spanish Vocabulary and Appendix to the Grammar, Catechism and Vocabulary of the Guajira Tongue.
With reference to the Spanish language, he wrote Dictionary of Phonetic Alphabet of the Spanish Tongue and The American Natural History Terms. In addition, some of his scientific studies were published, such as Mineralogy Elements and Meteorology Treatise. His works are found in the National Library and at the Naturalist Society of Colombia.

Miguel Antonio Caro (1843-1909) – Writer, grammarian, philologist, humanist, philosopher and politician.
The foremost grammarian, Miguel Antonio Caro is considered to be one of the most important scholars in Colombia. He was President of the Republic between 1894 and 1898, cofounder of the Colombian Academy of Language and director of the National Library.
One of his most valuable works, Grammar of the Latin Language was collaborated on with Rufino José Cuervo.
He was an excellent literary critic, essayist and historian. His poetic work is of a classical style. He wrote in Latin and took on the monumental task of translating the works of Virgil. Volumes of his work were published after his death.
When the Caro y Cuervo Institute was created in 1942, it took charge of publishing all of his works, of which already have been published fourteen volumes where are found writings about religious, philosophical and educational subjects, his legal, constitutional, philological, grammatical, and linguistic studies and the Grammar of the Latin Language.

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Rufino José Cuervo (1844-1911) – Philologist, grammarian, writer and humanist.
The illustrious Rufino José Cuervo is considered to be the father of Colombian Philology and one of the best grammarians of the Spanish Language.
He was one of twelve founders of the Colombian Academy of Language and is the author of numerous books including, Notes to the Andrés Bello Spanish Grammar, Grammar of the Latin Language for the Use of Spanish Speaking People, Critical Notations on the Language of Bogotá, and many literary books.
Cuervo's most important work, the Dictionary of Construction and Regime of the Spanish Language was completed only after the founding of the Caro y Cuervo Institute in 1942, which paid homage to him, as well as Miguel Antonio Caro.

Rafael María Carrasquilla (1857-1930) – Writer, philosopher and ecclesiastic.
A professor, academic, philosopher, author, and doctor of theology, Monsignor Carrasquilla was also one of the extraordinary religious speakers of his time.
He was president of the Colombian Academy of Language and as the Principal of the Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario he founded the faculties of Law, Philosophy and Letters.
His works include About Núñez de Arec, About the Study of Philosophy, The Life of Pius IX and San Augustine, as well as numerous sermons and texts on metaphysics and ethics.

José Asunción Silva ( 1865-1896) – Poet.
A romantic writer with modernist tendencies, José Asunción Silva, is regarded as one of the most famous Latin American poets. His first collection of poems, Intimacies, was introduced at a young age. He translated many famous French works before living in Paris for a year in 1885. Upon his return to Bogota, his fame as a poet had spread across Europe and Latin America. Some of his poetry can be found in his book Bitter Drops, and his prose in the novel De Sobremesa. His three Nocturnos and his Crepúsculo poems are considered by many to be his most beautiful works.
Despite his early success, a life of adversity burdened him and he ended his life at the age of 30. His memory was honoured in 1986 by the founding of “Silva's Poetry House” at his former residence.

Antonio Gómez Restrepo (1889-1947) – Historian, literature critic and poet.
The scholarly writer and translator, Antonio Gómez Restrepo, occupies a predominant place in Hispanic Literature and is one of the best literary critics in the country.
He was a university professor, in addition to being a distinguished diplomat and public servant. The writer belonged to numerous academies of history and literature in Europe, The United States and South America. He was the Permanent Secretary of the Colombian Academy of the Spanish Language.
His magnificent work, History of the Colombian Literature, has served as a model, according to important critics. His poems are found in the books, Lost Echoes, Reliquary and In the Region of Wonders.

Nicolás Bayona Posada (1869-1963) – Writer
A very important historian and literary critic, Bayona is remembered mainly for his anthology The soul of Bogota , which was published at the same time as the fourth centenary of the foundation of Bogota in 1938. He is also the author of Bogota, 1538, 1753,1810,1938, Panorama of the Colombian Literature, Teresa of Avila and Plainswoman.

Victor Eduardo Caro (1877-1944) – Writer, poet, academic and scientist.
Caro was a prominent writer known mainly for his poems and his children's magazine, Chanchito, he was also the son of the renowned Miguel Antonio Caro. He was a member of the Colombian Academy of Language and the Principal of the Bogota Engineering School.
Among his literary books are The Youth of Miguel Antonio Caro, and Colombian Sonnets, while he explored the sciences in The Numbers : Their History, Their Properties, Their Lies and Truths, where he compliments the works of mathematician Julio Garavito.

Enrique Santos Montejo -Calibán-
(1886-1971) – Writer and journalist.
Vice-chairman and chairman of El Tiempo newspaper, Santos' political column Dance of the Hours was one of the most read and appreciated in the country.
He was a distinguished lawyer who held important public positions and served as Colombia 's Ambassador to Chile.
In 1941, he was awarded the Moors Cabot Prize for Journalism conferred by Columbia University of New York.
The Enrique Santos Montejo High School was founded, in his honor, in the municipality of Tenjo.

Eduardo Santos Montejo (1888-1974) – Politician, historian and journalist.
One of the most important journalists of Colombia, Santos Montejo was the owner and director of the newspaper El Tiempo. He was President of the Republic of Colombia from 1938 to 1942.
He earned a doctorate of law at the National University and pursued further studies in France.
Santos served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Governor of Santander, Senator of the Republic, leader of the liberal party and head of the Colombian delegation to the League of Nations.
He was the founder of various educational centres and belonged to the Colombian Academy of History. He continued the beneficial work initiated by his wife in many hospitals including, Lorencita Villegas, Santa Clara, Agua de Dios, Clarita Santos in Santa Rosa de Cabal and the Clarita Santos wing at the Hospital San Vicente of Paúl in Medellín.

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