Amado Nervo

Amado Nervo (August 27, 1870 – May 24, 1919) also known as Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo, was a Mexican poet, journalist and educator. He also acted as Mexican Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay. His poetry was known for its use of metaphor and reference to mysticism, presenting both love and religion, as well as Christianity and Hinduism. Nervo is noted as one of the most important Mexican poets of the 19th century.

Early life

Amado Nervo was born in Tepic, Nayarit in 1870.

While Nervo had early plans to join the priesthood, economic hardship led him to accept a desk job in Tepic. He later moved to Mazatlán, where he alternately worked in the office of a lawyer and as a journalist for El Correo de la Tarde (The Evening Mail). He went on to become a successful poet, journalist, and international diplomat. and Nervo was interred November 14, 1919, in the Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres of Panteón de Dolores, in Mexico City.

Legacy

The Amado Nervo Museum displays photos and writings of Nervo. The museum can be found in the home where he was born, on the street which now bears his name. A long stretch of the Durango State Highway at San José de Tuitán and Villa Unión, Durango is named after Nervo. The Amado Nervo International Airport, the principal airport in the Mexican state of Nayarit, located in Tepic was also named after him. The Amado Nervo Institute in Camargo, Chihuahua is a private school, serving kindergarten through junior high school. In 1929, Mexican writer, Francisco Monterde wrote a biographical work about Nervo simply titled, Amado Nervo. In 1943, Mexican poet, Bernardo Ortiz de Montellano wrote a biographical work about Nervo entitled, Figura, amor y muerte de Amado Nervo. In 1961, Argentine composer Julia Stilman-Lasansky used Nervo’s text for her composition Cantata No. 1. In 2002, Carlos Monsiváis, the Mexican journalist and political activist wrote an essay entitled, Yo te bendigo, vida, which was about Amado Nervo. In 2006, musical artist Rodrigo de la Cadena presented "Poema: Por Cobardia", which was a poem by Nervo's set to music. The song was recorded on de la Cadena's second solo album, Boleros con Orquesta.

Published works

El bachiller (The Bachelor) 1895, novel El dia que me quieras, poetry Perlas Negras (Black Pearls) 1898, poetry Místicas (Mystical) 1898, poetry Poemas publicada en París (Poems published in Paris) 1901, poetry El éxodo y las flores del camino (The Exodus and the Flowers Along the Way) 1902, poetry Lira heroica (Heroic Lyre) 1902, poetry Los jardines interiores (The Inner Gardens) 1905, poetry Almas que pasan (Souls That Pass) 1906, prose En voz baja (In Lower Voice) 1909, poetry Ellos (Them) prose Juana de Asbaje: biografía de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (Joan of Asbaje: biography of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz) 1910, essay Serenidad (Serenity) 1912, poetry Mis filosofías (My Philosophies) 1912, review Elevación (Elevation) 1916, poetry El diablo desinteresado (The Disinterested Devil) 1916, novel Plenitud (Wholeness) 1918, poetry El estanque de los lotos (The Lotus Pond) 1919, poetry El arquero divino (The Divine Archer) 1919, poetry, published posthumously Los balcones (The Balconies) 1920, novel La amada inmóvil (The Immovable Loved One) 1922, poetry, published posthumously Gratia plena Una Esperanza (A Hope) Muerto y Resucitado (Dead and Resurrected) La raza de bronce (The Bronze Race) Éxtasis (Ecstasy) El primer beso (The first kiss) Poems of Faith and Doubt selection translated by John Gallas, Contemplative Poetry 1 (Oxford: SLG Press, 2021)