Salomón de la Selva facts for kids

Salomón de la Selva (born March 20, 1893 – died February 5, 1959) was an important Nicaraguan poet. He was also an honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language. He wrote poems in both English and Spanish.

Who Was Salomón de la Selva?

Salomón de la Selva was born in León, Nicaragua, on March 20, 1893. His parents were Salomón Selva Glenton and Evangelina Escoto Baca. He was the oldest of their nine children.

Early Life and Education

In 1906, when Salomón was 12 years old, he received a special scholarship. The government of José Santos Zelaya offered him a chance to study in the United States. He first attended Newton Collegiate Institution in New Jersey. Later, he studied at Westerleigh Collegiate Institute in New York. He stayed in the U.S. until 1910.

To help pay for his studies, Salomón worked hard. He sold newspapers and shined shoes in Central Park, New York City. After his father passed away in 1910, Salomón returned to Nicaragua. He began studying law at the University of León. He also took classes at Cornell University and Columbia University between 1913 and 1915. He earned a bachelor's degree in science and letters from the University of León. From 1916 to 1917, he taught Spanish and French at Williams College in Massachusetts.

Becoming a Poet and Soldier

In 1914 or 1915, Salomón de la Selva met the famous poet Rubén Darío in New York City. In 1918, he published his first book of poems, Tropical Town and Other Poems. This book was written in English. He spent time with other young poets in New York.

From 1917 to 1918, Salomón served as a soldier in World War I. He joined the British forces and the U.S. army. His experiences in the war inspired his future writings. One of his most famous works is El soldado desconocido (The Unknown Soldier). This poem was written in Spanish and published in Mexico in 1922. The famous artist Diego Rivera created illustrations for it.

Work for Workers' Rights

Salomón de la Selva also cared deeply about workers' rights. He worked with the American labour movement. He became a secretary for Samuel Gompers, a well-known labor union leader.

Between 1925 and 1929, he lived in Nicaragua. There, he worked to support local labor movements. He encouraged the Nicaraguan Worker's Federation to join the Panamerican Worker's Central. This group was connected to the American Federation of Labor.

Family Life and Later Years

During this time, Salomón married Carmela Castrillo. They had two children: Carmelita (born 1925) and Salomón Jr. (born 1927). Sadly, his daughter Carmelita passed away in the Managua earthquake in 1931. At the time, Salomón was the director of a newspaper called Nicaragua Libre.

By 1930, he wrote articles supporting Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary. These articles appeared in newspapers in San José, Costa Rica. In 1935, Salomón moved to Mexico City. He became an advisor to President Miguel Alemán Valdés along with his brother, Rogelio de la Selva. Salomón de la Selva passed away in Paris, France, on February 5, 1959. He was serving as Nicaragua's ambassador to France at the time.

What Were His Main Works?

Salomón de la Selva wrote many poems and a few novels.

Poetry Books

• Tropical Town and Other Poems (1918)
• A Song For Wall Street (1918)
• A Soldier Sings (1919)
• El soldado desconocido (The Unknown Soldier) (1922)
• Evocación de Horacio, Canto a Mérida de Yucatán (1947)
• La ilustre familia (1950)
• Canto a la Independencia de México (1955)
• Evocación de Píndaro (1957)
• Acolmixtli Netzahualcóyotl (1958)

Novels He Wrote

• La guerra de Sandino o el pueblo desnudo (written in 1935, published after his death in 1985)
• Narciso, a history of Nicaragua (1930)

See also

In Spanish: Salomón de la Selva para niños