Parra, Nicanor (nēkänōr` pä`rä), 1914–, Chilean poet. A poet who is also a professor of mathematics and physics, he has written verse influenced by existential philosophy and has called his work "antipoetry" because it is written in clear, colloquial language and deals with issues of common interest. Notes of humor and satire mitigate the disillusion and anguish frequently expressed in his verse . His works include Cancionero sin nombre [poetry without name] (1937), Poems and Antipoems (1954; tr. 1967), Versos de salón [parlor verses] (1962), Canciones rusas [Russian songs] (1967), Emergency Poems (tr. 1972), Antipoems, New and Selected (tr. 1985), and Hojas de Parra [leaves of Parra] (1985).

Bibliography

See E. Grossman, The Antipoetry of Nicanor Parra (1975); P. Neruda, N. Parra, and M. Gottlieb, Pablo Neruda and Nicanor Parra Face to Face (1997).

Parra, Nicanor

(born Sept. 5, 1914, San Fabian, Chile) Chilean poet. A student of mathematics and physics, Parra began teaching theoretical physics at the University of Chile in 1952. One of the most important Latin American poets of the 20th century, he is known for originating so-called antipoetry (poetry that opposes traditional poetic techniques or styles). In Poems and Antipoems (1954), he sought to make poetry accessible to the masses by treating everyday problems of a grotesque world in clear language with black humour and ironic vision. In later works he experimented with language, and he continued to use antipoetic techniques.