Arturo Uslar Pietri
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 Arturo Uslar Pietri photographed by Alejandro Toro Camacho |
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| Born: | May 16, 1906 Caracas |
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| Died: | February 26, 2001, aged 94 Caracas |
| Occupation: | novelist, writer |
| Nationality: | Venezuelan |
| Writing period: | 1931-2001 |
Arturo Uslar Pietri (May 16, 1906 – February 26, 2001) was one of the most prominent writers and intellectuals of twentieth-century. He was born in Venezuela. As a writer, journalist, diplomat, politician, government official and educator, Uslar Pietri was always a relevant figure in his country.
Born in Caracas, Uslar Pietri was raised partly there and partly in Maracay (State of Aragua) where he published several short stories in youth magazines. He studied Political Science in the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas and shortly after moved to Paris as a member of the Venezuelan diplomatic delegation there. In Paris he met many Latin American writers and became a good friend of Alejo Carpentier and Miguel Ángel Asturias. One of his most celebrated books was written during his stay in France. In 1931 he published Las Lanzas Coloradas a historical novel set in revolutionary Venezuela.
When the 27 year long dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez ended with the Dictator's death in 1935, Uslar Pietri became very active in the political debate, writing opinion articles in the local press. One of those articles, published on July 14, 1936 included a phrase that is still remembered and has both become an inspiration and a recrimination of Venezuela's fate as an oil producer and exporter. The title of that article was Sembrar el petróleo (to sow or plant oil) a metaphor he created to encourage Venezuelan leaders to invest oil wealth on sustainable growth.
In 1939, at the age of 33 he married Isabel Braun Kerdel with whom he had two sons, Arturo (deceased) and Federico Uslar Braun. That same year he became Minister of Education. Founded a political party Partido Democrático Venezolano and joined the Legislative Assembly as a Deputy in 1944. In 1945 he had been appointed Minister of the Interior. Political turmoil forced him to leave the country and move to New York in 1948 to come back two years later and resume his political activities as a Senator. During his stay in New York he taught at Columbia University. In 1963 he ran for the Venezuelan Presidency as a third party candidate but was defeated by Raúl Leoni.
After this defeat, he stayed active in politics as a Senator but gradually distanced himself from the political fray. He became Director of the Caracas news daily El Nacional from 1969 to 1974, when he traveled to Paris as Venezuelan Ambassador at UNESCO. On his return in 1979, he concentrated on writing and education. He became a familiar face on television on a weekly educational show called Valores Humanos, a show focusing on history and the arts that started in 1953.
Arturo Uslar Pietri died in Caracas on February 26, 2001 at the age of 94.
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[edit] Awards
- El Nacional Best Short Story Award (1949)
- National Literature Award (1952, (1982)
- National Journalism Award (1971)
- The Miguel de Cervantes Hispanic-American Journalism Award (1972)
- Prince of Asturias Award (1990)
- Légion d'honneur Grand-Croix (Grand Cross) (1990)
- Rómulo Gallegos Prize for Best Novel (1991)
[edit] Works
[edit] Novels
- (1931) Las Lanzas coloradas.
- (1947) El camino de El Dorado.
- (1962) Un retrato en la geografía.
- (1964) Estación de máscaras.
- (1976) Oficio de difuntos.
- (1981) La isla de Robinsón
- (1990) La visita en el tiempo.
[edit] Essays
- (1945) Las visiones del camino.
- (1945) Sumario de economía venezolana para alivio de estudiantes.
- (1948) Letras y hombres de Venezuela.
- (1949) De una a otra Venezuela.
- (1949) Treinta hombres y sus sombras.
- (1951) Las nubes.
- (1952) Apuntes para retratos.
- (1953) Tierra venezolana.
- (1954) Tiempo de contar.
- (1955) Pizarrón.
- (1955-56-58) Valores humanos.
- (1955) Breve historia de la novela hispanoamericana.
- (1958) Letras y hombres de Venezuela.
- (1959) Materiales para la construcción de Venezuela.
- (1962) Del hacer y deshacer de Venezuela.
- (1964) Valores humanos. Biografías y evocaciones.
- (1964) La palabra compartida. Discursos en el Parlamento (1959-1963).
- (1965) Hacia el humanismo democrático.
- (1966) Petróleo de vida o muerte.
- (1967) Oraciones para despertar.
- (1968) Las vacas gordas y las vacas flacas.
- (1969) En busca del nuevo mundo.
- (1971) Vista desde un punto.
- (1972) Bolivariana.
- (1974) La otra América.
- (1975) Camino de cuento.
- (1975) Viva voz.
- (1979) Fantasmas de dos mundos.
- (1981) Cuéntame a Venezuela.
- (1981) Educar para Venezuela.
- (1982) Fachas, fechas y fichas.
- (1983) Bolívar hoy.
- (1984) Venezuela en el petróleo.
- (1986) Medio milenio de Venezuela.
- (1986) Raíces venezolanas.
- (1986) Bello el venezolano.
- (1986) Godos, insurgentes y visionarios.
- (1990) La creación del Nuevo Mundo.
- (1992) Golpe y Estado en Venezuela.
- (1994) Del cerro de plata al camino extraviado.
[edit] Short stories
- (1928) Barrabas y otros relatos.
- (1936) Red.
- (1946) Pasos y pasajeros.
- (1949) Treinta hombres y sus sombras
- (1967) La lluvia y otros cuentos.
- (1980) Los Ganadores
[edit] Poetry
- (1973) Manoa: 1932-1972.
- (1986) El hombre que voy siendo.
[edit] Theater
- (1958) El día de Antero Alban. La Tebaida. El Dios invisible. La fuga de Miranda.
- (1960) Chuo Gil y las tejedoras. Drama en un preludio y siete tiempos.
[edit] Travel
- (1954) El otoño en Europa.
- (1960) La ciudad de nadie. El otoño en Europa. Un turista en el cercano oriente.
- (1971) La vuelta al mundo en diez trancos.
- (1975) El globo de colores.
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Uslar Pietri at Cervantes Virtual
- (Spanish) Sembrar el Petróleo, 1936
- (Spanish) Essays by and about Uslar Pietri
