Best Translated Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 10 (2017) Winner
Alejandra Pizarnik
アレハンドラ・ピサルニック
Alejandra Pizarnik
Aliases:
Flora Pizarnik
Pen Names:
Alejandra（Name adopted in her adolescence）
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1936-04-29 （Avellaneda, Argentina）
- Died
- 1972-09-25 （Buenos Aires, Argentina） age 36
- Nationality
- Argentine
- Languages
- Spanish, French
- Religion
- Judaism
- Residence History
- Avellaneda (birthplace) → Paris (1960–1964) → Buenos Aires (after return)
Career
- Occupations
- poet, translator, literary critic
- Active Years
- 1955-1972
- Affiliations
- Cuadernos (magazine, Paris)
- Influenced By
- Antonio Porchia, Arthur Rimbaud, Stéphane Mallarmé, Antonin Artaud, Henri Michaux, Aimé Césaire, Yves Bonnefoy, Octavio Paz
- Influenced
- Generations of Latin American writers and poets, Mariana Enríquez (example of a writer influenced by Pizarnik)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Buenos Aires | — | Philosophy (studies) | — | 1954–1955（途中で中退） | Argentina |
| University of Paris (Sorbonne) | — | French literature and history of religion | — | 1960–1964（留学・研究） | France |
University of Buenos Aires
Philosophy (studies)
Period:
1954–1955（途中で中退）
Country:
Argentina
Studied literature, journalism and philosophy; left to pursue painting
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
French literature and history of religion
Period:
1960–1964（留学・研究）
Country:
France
Studied French literature and history of religion while living in Paris and worked as a translator
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1971 | Fulbright Fellowship | — | — | Fulbright Program | 受賞 |
Guggenheim Fellowship
1969
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Fulbright Fellowship
1971
Organization:
Fulbright Program
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Most Foreign Country
1955 PoetryDebut collection containing early fragmentary and introspective poems.
lonelinesslimits of languageloss of self
Translations
- Translated into English by Yvette Siegert (Ugly Duckling Presse)
The Last Innocence / The Lost Adventures
1956 PoetryEarly collections exploring youthful sensitivity and anxiety.
childhoodanxietyself-awareness
Translations
- Translated into English by Cecilia Rossi (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2019)
Diana's Tree
1962 PoetryContains famous sequences on femininity, birth and self-transformation; Octavio Paz wrote the prologue.
birthfemale identitytransformation
Translations
- Translated into English by Yvette Siegert and Anna Deeny Morales (Shearsman, Ugly Duckling Presse, etc.)
Works and Nights
1965 PoetryA mature collection emphasizing motifs of loneliness, silence, and night.
nightsilencedeath
Translations
- Translated into English by Yvette Siegert (included in New Directions edition)
Extracting the Stone of Madness
1968 PoetryOne of her major works addressing mind, madness and the body; mixes fragmentary poems and prose-essays.
madnessthe bodysilence
Translations
- Translated into English by Yvette Siegert (New Directions, 2015)
A Musical Hell
1971 PoetryLate collection focusing on language, the absurd and musicality of verse.
limits of languageabsurditymusicality
Translations
- Translated into English by Yvette Siegert (New Directions, 2013)
The Bloody Countess
1971 Prose / long proseA prose work mixing biographical elements and fantasy; portrays a historical figure from a distinct perspective.
violencedesireself-destruction
Translations
- Included in translations/collections edited or translated by Susan Bassnett and others (English editions)
Bibliography
- The Most Foreign Country (1955)
- The Last Innocence (1956)
- The Lost Adventures (1958)
- Diana's Tree (1962)
- Works and Nights (1965)
- Extracting the Stone of Madness (1968)
- A Musical Hell (1971)
- The Bloody Countess (1971)
Translations by Author
- Antonin Artaud (translated)
- Henri Michaux (translated)
- Aimé Césaire (translated)
- Yves Bonnefoy (translated)
- Marguerite Duras (translated)
Translations of Works
- Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962–1972 (New Directions, English translation, 2015)
- Selected Poems (translated editions by Cecilia Rossi, Yvette Siegert, etc.)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- introspective, fragmentary poetryinfluences from symbolism and surrealismuse of prose-poem and automatic writing techniques
- Recurring Motifs
- silencenightthe bodymadnessdeathlonelinesschildhood
Health
-
Schizophrenia (clinical diagnosis)成人期（詳細な罹患期間は資料により異なる）Mental suffering affected both her work and private life and is reflected in her themes
Legacy
Her unique poetic exploration of the limits of language, silence, the body, madness and death has strongly influenced Latin American and international poetry; she is the subject of extensive scholarly attention and multiple English translations.
Archives
- Papers and related materials held in collections such as the National Library of Argentina
In Popular Culture
- Frequently cited in poetry collections and criticism; regarded as an important figure in Latin American literary studies
Quotes
-
"I jumped from myself to dawn / I left my body next to the light / and sang the sadness of being born."
Source: Diana's Tree (poetry collection) (1962)
Trivia
- Born Flora Pizarnik.
- Lived in Paris from 1960 to 1964, where she worked as a translator and writer.
- Died in 1972 by an overdose of secobarbital (reported suicide).
- Clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia.