Laureano Albán

Laureano Albán Rivas (9 January 1942 – 5 June 2022) was a Costa Rican writer. A native of Turrialba, he was a recipient of the Magón National Prize for Culture in 2006. He served as representative of the Republic of Costa Rica to UNESCO from 1998–2002.

Early life and education Albán was born in Turrialba, Costa Rica, in 1942 and studied philology and linguistics at the University of Costa Rica before completing doctoral studies in New York. During his youth, he became associated with poet Jorge Debravo, with whom he co-founded the Círculo de Poetas de Turrialba, later reorganised in the 1960s as the Círculo de Poetas Costarricenses.

Literary career In 1977, Albán and several contemporaries, including Julieta Dobles, Ronald Bonilla, and Carlos Francisco Monge, issued the Transcendentalist Manifesto, which laid the foundations for a literary movement that sought to renew poetic language and move beyond established rhetorical traditions. Over the course of his career, he produced a substantial body of work, including the multi-volume poetic project Enciclopedia de las maravillas.

Diplomatic and academic career Alongside his literary activity, Albán pursued a diplomatic career. He served in various international roles, including as ambassador to the United Nations in New York, to Israel, and as a representative to UNESCO.

List of awards Adonais Prize for poetry, Madrid, Spain, 1979. National Poetry Prize Achilles J. Echeverria, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1980. First Prize of Spanish Culture, Madrid, Spain, 1981. Spanish American Literature Award, Huelva, Spain, 1982. Religious International Poetry Prize, Burgos, Spain, 1983. Single Award VII Biennial of Poetry, León, Spain, 1983. Columbia University Translation Award center, New York, USA. UU., 1983. Prize Walt Whitman Poetry Central, Central, 1986. World Prize for Mystical Poetry Rielo Fernando, Madrid, Spain, 1989. National Poetry Prize Achilles J. Echeverria, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1993. Mago National Culture Award, San José, Costa Rica, 2006.

Death and legacy Albán died on 5 June 2022 following health complications.