Zalamea, Jorge

Zalamea, Jorge 

Born Mar. 8, 1905, in Bogotá; died there May 10, 1969. Colombian writer and state and public figure.

During the 1930’s, Zalamea held a number of responsible government posts and was a deputy to the legislature; from 1932 to 1935 and in 1945 he served as a diplomat. He was the author of prose works, plays, including The Rape of the Sabine Women (1941), and literary critiques. He also translated poetry, namely the works of Saint-John Perse. His political pamphlet His Excellency’s Metamorphosis (written 1949; published 1963; Russian translation, 1969) and his pamphlet in verse The Great Burundun-Burunda Is Dead (1952) ridicule Latin-American dictators.

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Zalamea was a member of the World Peace Council. He wrote a number of publicist articles on contemporary political and cultural problems. In 1968 he was awarded the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Nations.

WORKS

La vida maravillosa de los libros. Bogotá, 1941.
Antecedentes históricos de la Revolución Cubana. Bogotá, 1961.
La poesía ignorada y olvidada. Havana, 1965.
In Russian translation:
”Latino-amerikanskaia kul’tura i ee problemy.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1968, no. 3.

REFERENCE

Dashkevich, Iu. “Poeziiu—liudiam, na ulitsy!” Inostrannaia literatura, 1966, no. 10.

V. N. KUTEISHCHIKOVA