[En Espa

1
Im starting this presentation with a poem,
because although Octavio Paz served as a
diplomat, activist and critic, he was foremost, a
poet. Please click to continue.
EL OTRO by OCTAVIO PAZ
En Español Se inventó una cara. Detrás de
ella Vivió murió y resucitó Muchas veses. Su
cara Hoy tiene las arrugas de esa cara. Sus
arrugas no tienen cara.
In English He invented a face for
himself. Behind it, He lived, died, and was
resurrected Many times. His face now Has the
wrinkles from that face. His wrinkles have no
face.
2
YES, BUT WHAT DO I WRITE EXACTLY? (1)
1.) Describe the Spanish Cultural Aspect you are
going to discuss in your project.
2.) Why did you choose this particular aspect for
your project?
I enjoy poetry. Learning about a Mexican poet
allows me to learn about two things at once. One,
Spanish Culture, two, poetry. I find that
incorporating two things I admire allows me to
learn much more of what I want to know because it
overlaps with what I need to know for class.
Besides, its fun! (Time consuming, but fun
nonetheless). It surprised me to learn that I
could translate some of the poems with my meager
knowledge of Spanish, that made me feel good!
What? Octavio Paz Where? Mexico City to the
World When? 1914-1998 How? ... Who is Involved?
...
3.) What other information did you gather about
this aspect from doing research on the topic?
Other then information about Paz, I learned names
of other famous Spanish-Speaking poets that I
didnt know about. This gives me leads to
research the subject for myself after this
project.
3
Who was Octavio Paz?
((A question without an easy answer. ))
First (and most simply)
A Man
Second
A Mexican Man - Although there was the world in
Paz, he is always identified with his native land.
A Poet Whether its looking deeper into things
or just using words like no one else can, Octavio
Paz had these qualities, and knew how to use
them.
Third
Fourth
A Proponent of Freedom Throughout his life,
Octavio Paz fought to protect the artists right
to think and the peoples democratic rights to
live.
Fifth
An Essayist and Critic Aside from poetry,
Octavio Paz wrote a wide array of expository
prose pieces.
4
His Youth
He began his life in Mexico City But
circumstances (the revolution going on at the
time) Caused his family to move to a small
village called Mixcoac until paz was six years
old.
After a year, Octavio moved back to
Mixcoac. However, he was once Again teased. He
felt like, A Foreigner in his own country.
This was a theme that would follow him
throughout his life.
At about that time, Octavio was moved to Los
Angeles, where he attended kindergarten. He was
teased by the other kids for being different.
Octavio Paz Lozano was born on March 31, 1914 to
Octavio Paz Solórzano and Josefina Lozano Paz
5
Teenage Years
At 16, Octavio entered National Preparatory
School in San Ildefonso.
The disposition of the school was quite liberal
at the time, and Octavio Paz was drawn into the
fervor.
In his second year, Paz and friends started a
small literary review called Barandal.
In 1932, Paz graduated from the National
Preparatory School. His next stop was law school
in Mexico City.
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Literary Influences
7
Diplomacy
Law school was not the place for Octavio Paz so
in 1945(after a trip to the United States on a
scholarship) he accepted a diplomatic post for
the Mexican government. Here, his travels really
began.
5 years in Paris
In 1952 Octavio Paz returned to Mexico for a
time. He would go on to spend time in New York,
San Francisco, and in 1962 be appointed
Ambassador to India. In 1968, Octavio Paz
resigned his post to protest the government
massacre of student demonstrators in Mexico City
shortly before the Olympic Games (Eliot
Wienberger)
4 months in New Dehli
Several Weeks in Geneva
A Few Months in Tokyo
8
Writings
Pazs first book of poetry was published in 1933,
it is called Luna silvestre.
Along with countless books, Paz started and
contributed to many literary magazines. Taller
was started in 1938.
On the left is a visual poem, published in 1968
with a collection called, TOPOEMAS.
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YES, BUT WHAT DO I WRITE EXACTLY? (2)
4.) How do you interpret the information you
gathered about your topic? Why? How does this
information compare to a comparable American
cultural aspect?
Well of course the first thing that comes to mind
is the language difference. When talking about
something as precise and dependent on the
intricacies of a language as poetry, every word
matters. I found that reading the poems in
Spanish and seeing several different translations
of the same words in English made me respect the
depth of the Spanish language. As far as
biographical aspects, obviously, some events of
Octavio Pazs life took place because he was
Mexican. Other then that, I interpreted his life
as I would that of an American poet.
5.) What did you learn about the Spanish culture
from doing this project?
I learned that the position of poet in
Spanish-speaking countries is quite an exalted
spot. Many poets are given diplomatic posts yet
remain bound to their countries through their
words. I learned to appreciate even more the
uniqueness and beauty of Spanish. And Im anxious
to learn more words so I can understand the
poetry!
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Terminar
Octavio Paz died in 1998, but not before
receiving the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.