Noticias
Emeritus creator of Fonca since 1993
Poet, philosopher and essayist Ramón Xirau died
July 27, 2017The poet, philosopher, essayist, teacher and publisher Ramon Xirau, a naturalized Mexican and an outstanding figure of Spanish exile in our country, died on July 26th at the age of 93.
The secretary of Culture, Maria Cristina García Cepeda, through her Twitter account, regretted the death of who was “an admirable man of letters, an indispensable intellectual; Ramón Xirau leaves us his legacy as a poet, essayist and philosopher”, she said.
In the same social network, García Cepeda also wrote that "Ramón Xirau and Ana María de Xirau admirably sponsored outstanding new poets. My condolence to her and to the intellectual community”.
During her visit to Ramón Xirau’s home where he spent his last years, and after giving her condolence to his widow Ana María de Xirau, García Cepeda said that the Department of Culture will render a national homage to Ramón Xirau, in collaboration with the institutions he participated in a relevant way, once it’s agreed with his relatives.
Ramón Xirau Subías (Barcelona, January 20th, 1924) arrived in Mexico in March 1939 where he studied at the Liceo Franco-Mexicano and at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. In 1955, he became a Mexican citizen and afterwards he did a master's and PhD in Philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
He is one of the most outstanding and beloved children of the Spanish exile in Mexico, whose work is already an intrinsic part of our culture on different fronts: as poet and philosopher, as well as a literary essayist, teacher and editor.
Adolfo Castañón points out that "Ramón Xirau’s work has been channeled through four aspects: that of the poet who has managed to create a visionary point of view, that of the writer and philosopher author of his own work, that of the teacher that educates researchers and professors, and the translator and publisher who knew how to make the Diálogos (1964-1985) a rich lighthouse where, in a way, one can recognize some of the master lines that would deepen and widen editorially the magazines Plural and Vuelta of Octavio Paz.
Regarding philosophy, in titles such as Sentido de la presencia (Sense of presence), El péndulo y la espiral (The pendulum and the spiral) and Poesía y conocimiento (Poetry and knowledge), Ramón Xirau addressed the union between philosophy, poetry and religion and much of his work is dedicated to exploring the relationship of philosophy and poetry, which he conceived as a form of knowledge.
While in his poetic work, the author was faithful to the Catalan language appearing in it a fine artist who reminded us that the Mediterranean has been the cradle of a civilization and a harmonious and contemplative, incisive and serene certain look.
Among his books of poetry, in addition to his Poesía completa (1950-1994), it stands out: Diez poemas (1951) and Las playas (1974), and regarding literary critic there are works like: Poetas de Mexico and España (1961), Genio y figura de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1967) and Octavio Paz: el sentido de la palabra (1970).
Ramón Xirau was a teacher at the Liceo Franco-Mexicano, the Universidad de las Americas, and the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, as well as a researcher at the Institute of Philosophical Research at UNAM.
He was an emeritus creator of the National System of Creators of the Fonca from 1993 as well as a member of the Mexican Academy of the Language. He was also an emeritus researcher of the UNAM and the first non-born member of Mexico of El Colegio Nacional, where he joined in 1973.
He was recognized as Knight of the Arts and Letters by the French government in 1964 and among many others, he received the Mazatlán Prize for Literature in 1990, the National Science and Arts award in 1995, the Fine Arts Medal in 2009 and he was honored in the Senate of the Republic in 2013.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
