- Born:
- September 14, 1895, San José de la Esquina, Argentina
- Died:
- November 3, 1964, BahĂa Blanca (aged 69)
Ezequiel MartĂnez Estrada
Ezequiel MartĂnez Estrada (born September 14, 1895, San JosĂ© de la Esquina, Argentinaâdied November 3, 1964, BahĂa Blanca) was a leading post-Modernismo Argentine writer who influenced many younger writers.
MartĂnez Estrada worked for 30 years (1916â46) at the Buenos Aires post office while also teaching initially in a preparatory school and later at the university there. Mostly self-taught, he began his literary career with essays in the journal Nosotros (âWeâ) (1917). His first book of poems, Oro y piedra (1918; âGold and Stoneâ), was followed by Nefelibal (1922), Motivos del cielo (1924; âHeavenâs Reasonsâ), Argentina (1927), and Humoresca (1929). These displayed very complex techniques. Language and imagery are often tinted with humour, conveying a satirical view reminiscent of Francisco GĂłmez de Quevedo y Villegas, the master satirist of Spainâs Golden Age.
His view of the political and economic crises of the early 1930s and of what he saw as factors contributing to moral and social decay in Argentina led him to write RadiografĂa de la pampa (1933; X-Ray of the Pampa), a comprehensive psychological study of the Argentine character laden with fatalistic overtones. La cabeza de Goliat: MicroscopĂa de Buenos Aires (1940; âThe Head of Goliath: A Microscopic Study of Buenos Airesâ) treats the people of Buenos Aires and continues the themes of RadiografĂa.
Among the works that made MartĂnez Estrada a respected critic are MartĂn Fierro, Muerte y transfiguraciĂłn del MartĂn Fierro, 2 vol. (1948; âThe Death and Transfiguration of Martin Fierroâ), El mundo maravilloso de Guillermo Enrique Hudson (1951; âThe Wonderful World of Guillermo Enrique Hudsonâ), and El hermano Quiroga (1957; âBrother Quirogaâ). From 1960 to 1962 he worked with the Cuban government publishing house Casa de las AmĂ©ricas. In 1988 selected short stories by MartĂnez Estrada were published as Holy Saturday and Other Stories.