Great novelists. Jose Maria Eguren Rodriguez

OUR COUNTRY IS A LAND OF GREAT NOVELISTS, WRITERS AND, OF COURSE, POETS.

IN THIS OPPORTUNITY I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT A PERUVIAN WHO I CONSIDER IS WORTH TO BE REMEMBERED AND HE IS:

JOSE MARIA EGUREN RODRIGUEZ, who was a poet, painter, photographer and even inventor. Undoubtedly, a complete artist.

He was born in Lima in 1874. When he was a child he lived in the countryside, in Chuquitanta and Pro, he was living there with his parents to stay away from the invasion of the Chilean army during the Guerra del Pacífico

Jose Maria was unable to complete his studies due to health problems. He led a calm lifestyle and his rural environment influenced his temperament and the character of his later artistic creation.

In 1879, after the death of his parents, he moved with two of his sisters, Susana and Angélica, to Barranco. The landscapes, the old houses served as inspiration to develop his fascination for paiting, this is how he painted his first watercolours such as: "La niña del mar" and "la niña de la mañana". Later, he would participate in the "Exposición Nacional de 1892" in Lima and was recognised by the master Teófilo Castillo, who was the highest authority on the plastic arts. Teófilo praised Eguren's paintings and remarked that they were so authentic and never seen before. From a very early age he also began to write poetry. His pictorial works had the same features as his poetic texts, a halo of dreamlike beauty that made them unique.

In 1899 he published two poems in the magazine "Lima Ilustrada" but the important critics of the time, such as Ventura García Calderón and Clemente Palma, were unable to understand Eguren's poetry. 

I also mentioned that he was an inventor. What he invented was a small camera with an inkwell and cloth that would have been like a pinhole camera. Was really quite an advanced invention for his time and he used to photograph landscapes, animals, scenes from everyday life and even portraits of people.

In 1911, Eguren published his first book "Simbólicas", thanks to this work, he won the admiration of the renowned Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral and other prominent figures who were beginning to recognise his work. In "Simbólicas" he incorporated regionalisms and neologisms and this was to be considered a before and after in the overcoming of modernism.

Here, we find his poems: "Los robles", "Los reyes rojos", "Juan Volatín". In 1916 he published his second poetry collection, "La canción de las figuras" which contains fundamental poems such as "La niña de la lámpara azul" and "Peregrín cazador de figuras", which was greeted with great enthusiasm by the renowned Abraham Valdelomar.

Likewise, José Carlos Mariátegui provided extensive coverage of Eguren's work and published a study of it which he included in his "7 ensayos de la realidad peruana"

The last collection of poems Eguren published was "Poesías" (1929) in which he included previous collections of poems and added "Sombras y rondinelas".

In those years, the public already understood Eguren's art. He had become the archetype of youth for his discretion and delicate sensibility, which seemed to have no precedent in the Peruvian literary tradition.

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