World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

José Emilio Pacheco

ホセ・エミリオ・パチェコ

José Emilio Pacheco

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1939-06-30 （Mexico City, Mexico）
Died
2014-01-26 （Mexico City, Mexico） age 74
Nationality
Mexico
Languages
Spanish
Residence History
Mexico City (birthplace and main residence) → United States (visiting positions) → Canada (residence/visits) → United Kingdom (visiting appointments)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, university professor
Active Years
1958-2014
Affiliations
Faculty at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), University of Maryland (visiting professor), University of Essex (visiting lecturer), El Colegio Nacional, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
Memberships
Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, El Colegio Nacional
Influenced By
Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda
Influenced
A generation of contemporary Mexican poets

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Country: Mexico

Awards

Cervantes Prize
2009
Organization: Ministry of Culture (Spain) / Cervantes Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Reina Sofía Award
2009
Organization: Reina Sofía Award organizers
Result: 受賞
Federico García Lorca Award
2005
Organization: Federico García Lorca Award organizers
Result: 受賞
Octavio Paz Award
2003
Organization: Octavio Paz Award organizers
Result: 受賞
Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Award
2004
Organization: Pablo Neruda Award committee
Result: 受賞
Ramón López Velarde Award
2003
Organization: Ramón López Velarde Award organizers
Result: 受賞
Alfonso Reyes International Prize
2004
Organization: Alfonso Reyes International Prize committee
Result: 受賞
José Fuentes Mares National Prize for Literature
2000
Organization: José Fuentes Mares prize committee
Result: 受賞
National José Asunción Silva Poetry Award
1996
Organization: José Asunción Silva Award organizers
Result: 受賞
Xavier Villaurrutia Prize
Organization: Xavier Villaurrutia Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Golden Wreath (Struga Poetry Evenings)
2013
Organization: Struga Poetry Evenings
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Los elementos de la noche

1963 Poetry

Early poetry collection gathering symbolic and lyrical poems about night and nature.

nightnaturememory
Translations

El reposo del fuego

1966 Poetry

A collection of poems dealing with fire, silence, and time.

timedeathmemory

City of Memory (Ciudad de la memoria)

1990 Poetry

A major mid-career collection that interweaves the city and personal memory.

urban lifememoryhistory
Translations
  • City of Memory and Other Poems (English translation)

Tarde o temprano: Poems 1958-2009

2009 Poetry (Collected)

A collected volume of poems from 1958 to 2009.

timerecollectionhistory

Battles in the Desert

1981 Novella / Short story

A representative novella/short story depicting urban Mexican life and the pains of growing up; interweaves urban memory and personal history.

urban lifecoming of agememory
Translations
  • Battles in the Desert & Other Stories (English translation)

Bibliography

  • Los elementos de la noche (1963)
  • El reposo del fuego (1966)
  • No me preguntes cómo pasa el tiempo (1970)
  • Irás y no volverás (1973)
  • Islas a la deriva (1976)
  • Los trabajos del mar (1983)
  • City of Memory (1990)
  • La arena errante (1999)
  • Tarde o temprano: Poems 1958-2009 (2009)
  • Battles in the Desert (1981)

Adaptations

  • English translations of Las batallas en el desierto and inclusion in international anthologies

Translations of Works

  • City of Memory and Other Poems (English translation)
  • Battles in the Desert & Other Stories (English translation)
  • Selected Poems (English translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise and lucid expressionrestrained lyricism that weaves personal and historical elementsfusion of prose narrative and poetic imagery
Recurring Motifs
memorytimethe citydeathchildhood and coming of age

Health

  • cardiac arrest / heart attack
    2014-01 (死亡時に発生)
    Died suddenly of a cardiac arrest in 2014. Continued creative activity until his death.

Legacy

José Emilio Pacheco is one of the leading Mexican writers of the late 20th century. Known for works on memory, time, and the city, he received major international awards such as the Cervantes Prize and left a lasting influence on Mexican and Latin American literature.

Academic Societies

  • Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
  • El Colegio Nacional

Archives

  • Held in archives related to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and other institutional collections

In Popular Culture

  • Works taught and referenced in Mexican school curricula
  • Frequently cited at international poetry festivals as a major poet

Quotes

  • He is one of the most significant contemporary Latin American poets.
    Source: Berlin International Literature Festival (participant biography) (2001)

Trivia

  • Member of El Colegio Nacional since 1986.
  • Married to Cristina Pacheco in 1965; had two children.
  • Recorded at the Library of Congress in 1976 (Hispanic Division audio archive).