Mercedes Negrón Muñoz
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Mercedes Negron Muñoz a.k.a. "Clara Lair" (March 8, 1895 – August 26, 1973) born in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, was an influential poet whose work dealt with the everyday struggles of the common Puerto Rican.
Mercedes was born into one of Puerto Rico's most influential families, which included writers, poets and politicians. She was raised in the town of Barranquitas, which is located in the central mountain region of the island. Her father was the poet Quintin Negron and her uncles the poet Jose A. Negron and poet and statesman Luis Muñoz Rivera. She was also the cousin Puerto Rico's first elected governor Luis Muñoz Marín. Mercedes received her primary and secondary education in her hometown and she studied literature in the University of Puerto Rico.
Mercedes, influenced by her family's love of literature, developed a love for poetry because it was the form of art which permitted her to freely express herself. In 1937, she published one of her most renowned poems, "A ras del Cristal" (Cracked Glass) under the name "Clara Lair", her assumed pseudonym. She soon gained recognition as one of the great poets of Latin America.
In 1950, she published her second book of poems, titled "Tropico Amargo" (Sour Tropic), In this book she included some of her previously published poems plus a new series of poems which she called "Mas Alla del Poniente". Both of her books received literary awards and public recognition from the Institute of Puerto Rican Literature. Among the many poets who were influenced by Mercedes' poetic style was the renowned Puerto Rican poet, Julia de Burgos.
In 1961, The Puerto Rican Institute of Culture published a book which included a selection of her poems. The Puerto Rican Institute of Culture also published in their magazine fragments of her poems "Memoria de una isleña" (Memories of an Islander) and "Ultimos" (Last). The Puerto Rican poet Luis Llorens Torres called Mercedes "The Puerto Rican Alfonsina Storni".
Mercedes Negron Muñoz died on August 26, 1973 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A docu-drama about the life of Mercedes titled "A Passion named Clara Lair" was produced and directed by Ivonne Belen in 1996. Puerto Rico has honored her memory by naming a school after her and in the town of Hormigueros, there is an Hogar Clara Lair, a non-profit organization founded in 1991, which protects defenseless women.
