Rosario Ferré

Rosario Ferré
Born September 28, 1938 (1938-09-28) (age 73)
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Occupation writer, poet, professor and essayist
Nationality Puerto Rican
Notable award(s) Ateneo Puertorriqueño; "LiBeratur Preis" (Germany)
Spouse(s) Benigno Trigo González
José Aguilar Mora
Agustín Costa Quintano
Children 3 (Rosario Lorenza, Benigno, Luis Alfredo)
Relative(s) Luis A. Ferré (father)
Isolina Ferre (aunt)
Olga Nolla
rosarioferre.net
Rosario Ferré
First Lady of Puerto Rico
In office
1970-1972
Governor Luis A. Ferré
Preceded by Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano
Succeeded by Lila Mayoral

Dr. Rosario Ferré (born September 28, 1938) is a Puerto Rican writer, poet and essayist.[1] Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970. during her father's term as Governor, Rosario fulfilled the duties of First Lady until 1972.

Among her published literary essays is "Sitio a Eros", which promoted political and social themes.

Contents

Early years

Rosario Ferré (birth name: Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano[note 1]) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico into one of Puerto Rico's wealthiest families. Her parents were Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano and the late Luis A. Ferré,[2] the former governor of Puerto Rico. She is also the niece of the late Sor Isolina Ferré, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She received her primary education in Ponce, Puerto Rico. At age 13 she moved to Wellesley, Massachusetts and attended Dana Hall School.[3]

Ferré began writing professionally at age 14, publishing articles in Puerto Rico's El Nuevo Día newspaper.[3] In her youth, Ferré was an independence advocate,[3] despite the fact that her father was pro-statehood. Later in life, she also became an advocate of statehood. Upon graduating from high school she went to the United States and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French[4] from Manhattanville College.[1] She is a member of Mu Alpha Phi sorority.[5]

Ferré returned to Puerto Rico where in the 1970s she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico to work on her Master's degree. During her tenure as a student, Ferré began her writing career as the founder, editor and publisher of the journal Zona de Carga y Descarga along with her cousin Olga Nolla.[6] The journal was devoted to publishing new writers and to promoting the ideas of the independence movement. Among the novelists and short story writers of Puerto Rico, Ana Lydia Vega and Giannina Braschi share Rosario Ferré's commitment to satire. Ferré also has written and published poems and a biography of her father.[1] Upon earning her masters degree, Rosario enrolled in University of Maryland where she graduated with a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature. Ferré then obtained her PhD from the University of Maryland.[4] Her doctoral thesis was titled: "La filiación romántica de los cuentos de Julio Cortázar" (The romantic link between the stories of Julio Cortázar).[4]

Literary career

Rosario Ferré started her literary career writing in Spanish. In 1976, Ferré published her first collection of short stories Papeles de Pandora. In 1977, she published a collection of her literary essays titled Sitio a Eros, which promoted political and social themes. In 1986, she published her first book Maldito Amor, which she self-translated into English as Sweet Diamond Dust. After Maldito Amor she switched to write the first versions of her books directly in English, but she continues to self-translate her books into Spanish.[7] In 2002 she published a bilingual edition of poems Language Duel/Duelo del languaje.

Ferré's books include, among others, The Youngest Doll, The Battle of Virgins, The House on the Lagoon, Sweet Diamond Dust, Flight of the Swan and Eccentric Neighborhoods.[1]

Honors

Ferré won the first prize in a short story contest of the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in 1974. In 1992, she was the recipient of the "Liberatur Prix" award from the Frankfurt Book Fair for Kristallzucker, the German translation of Maldito Amor.[8] In 1997, she was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Brown University. Ferré was a Guggenheim fellowship recipient in 2004.[1]

Personal

Upon finishing school, Ferré married a businessman named Benigno Trigo González and had three children, Rosario Lorenza, Benigno and Luis Alfredo.[4] They divorced ten years later.[4] While she studied in the Department for Hispanic Studies of the University of Puerto Rico, she met her second husband, José Aguilar Mora, a Mexican literature professor and writer.[4] They divorced after a few years.[4] While she studied at the University of Maryland and lived in Washington, D.C. she met her third husband, Agustín Costa Quintano, a Puerto Rican architect.[4] They later moved to Puerto Rico, where they currently reside. Dr. Rosario Ferré is currently a professor at the University of Puerto Rico and was a contributing editor for The San Juan Star, Puerto Rico's former English language newspaper. Ferré has also been a visiting professor at Rutgers University and Johns Hopkins University.[1]

Written Works

Fiction

[9]

Essays

[9]

Poetry

[9]

Biographies

[9]

Critical Studies of Ferré's Work

See also

Puerto Rico portal
Biography portal
Literature portal

Notes

  1. ^
    This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ferré and the second or maternal family name is Ramírez de Arellano.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rosario Ferré Official Website, Biography.
  2. ^ (Spanish) Ensayistas.org, Rosario Ferré. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Wellesley College, Conference, Women Who Will: A Celebration of Wellesley College Alumnae and Their Life Paths, Person of the Week, Week of May 28, 2001: Rosario Ferré, '60.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h (Spanish) Solo Literatura.com, Rosario Ferré.
  5. ^ "Mu Alpha Phi History" (in Spanish). http://mualphaphi.com/historia. Retrieved 2010-05-24. 
  6. ^ Voices from the Gaps: Women Artists and Writers of Color, Rosario Ferré.
  7. ^ Navarro, Mireya (1998): Arts in America; Bilingual Author Finds Something Gained in Translation. In: The New York Times, 08.09.1998
  8. ^ a b (Spanish) University of the Sacred Heart, News: Pasión y sentidos se cruzan en Las puertas del placer de Rosario Ferré.
  9. ^ a b c d Chron.com Books and Authors
  10. ^ Library of Congress Online Catalog, El Acomodador: una lectura fantastica de Felisberto Hernandez .
  11. ^ Library of Congress Online Catalog, Antología Personal.

External links