Julio Torri facts for kids
Julio Torri Maynes (born June 27, 1889, in Saltillo, Coahuila – died May 11, 1970, in Mexico City) was an important Mexican writer and teacher. He was part of a famous group called the Ateneo de la Juventud (1909–1914). Julio Torri mostly wrote essays, which are short pieces of writing about a topic. He also wrote short stories and scholarly works. Many people thought he was one of the best writers in Latin America. He became a member of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (Mexican Language Academy) in 1952. His parents were Julio S. Torri and Sofía Maynes de Torri.
Biography
His Education
Julio Torri started his schooling in Saltillo, at Colegio Torreón and later at Escuela Juan Antonio de la Fuente. In 1908, he moved to Mexico City. He earned a law degree in 1913 from the National Law School. Later, in 1933, he received a special degree called a doctorate in literature from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
His Career
Julio Torri was a key member of the Ateneo de la Juventud. This was a group of young, smart writers and thinkers. Other famous members included Alfonso Reyes and José Vasconcelos. From 1916 to 1923, he helped edit a magazine called Cultura.
He also helped create and lead the Department of Libraries for the SEP. He was in charge of publishing classic books. In 1921, he helped start a group called Grupo Solidario del Movimiento Obrero.
Julio Torri taught literature for almost 50 years. He taught at places like the National Preparatory School and the UNAM. He even taught some summers at the University of Texas. From 1953, he was an Emeritus Professor at UNAM, which means he was a respected retired professor.
He traveled to countries like Argentina, Brazil, and the United States to share his knowledge about poetry and teaching. A trip to Europe in 1952 also inspired some of his writing. To honor him, a special award for young writers, the Premio Nacional de Cuento Joven Julio Torri, was created in 2001.
His Writings
Julio Torri's writing was greatly influenced by authors he read, especially Oscar Wilde. He wrote important essays about many famous writers, like Maeterlinck and Tolstoy. He also translated works by Pascal and Heinrich Heine.
As a writer, he loved essays because they showed how much he knew. He also enjoyed writing short stories. He was one of the first writers in Mexico to create prose poetry and estampas (which are like short, vivid literary sketches). He was also known for his excellent use of epigraphs, which are short quotes at the beginning of a text.
Julio Torri was a very careful writer. He would work on his words again and again to make them perfect. His style was known for being clear and pure. Some of his most important books are Ensayos y Poemas (Essays and Poems) (1917), De fusilamientos (On Executions) (1940), and Tres libros (Three Books) (1964). His book Diálogo de los libros (Dialogue of the Books) was published after he passed away in 1980.
Published Works
(This is not a complete list)
- Ensayos y poemas (1917)
- Ensayos y fantasias (1918)
- Romances viejos (1918)
- Las noches florentinas (Heinrich Heine; Julio Torri [translator])
- De fusilamientos (1940)
- Discurso sobre las pasiones del amor (Blaise Pascal; Julio Torri [translator])
- Sentencias y lugares comunes (1945)
- La literaura española (1952)
- La Revista moderna de Mexico; discurso de ingreso en la Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, correspondiente de la Española (1954)
- Tres libros: Ensayos y poemas, De fusilamientos, Prosas dispersas (1964)
- Diálogo de los libros (edited by Serge I. Zaïtzeff) (1980)
- El ladrón de ataúdes (edition Serge Zaïtzeff) (1987)
- Epistolarios (edition Serge Zaïtzeff) (1995)
See also
In Spanish: Julio Torri para niños
