López Velarde, Ramón

López Velarde, Ramón (rämōn` lō`pās vālär`thā), 1888–1921, Mexican poet. One of the major poets of Mexico, he deeply influenced the work of later poets, notably Xavier Villaurrutia. Although his poetry sometimes shows the influence of modernismo, he was one of the first poets to rebel against its labored aestheticism. His excesses are the result of a passionate quest for originality. It was his masterful treatment of the Mexican landscape, the contrast between the traditions of the countryside and the turbulence of the city, and his own anguished struggle between ascetic leanings and pagan sensuality that give his lyrics their peculiar tension, expressiveness, and drama. His first work, La sangre devota [the devout blood] (1916), was followed by Zozobra (1919). El son del corazón [the sound of the heart] and Poemas escogidos [selected poems] (1935) were published posthumously.