ENRIQUE LIHN: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE, WORKS - BIOGRAPHIES - 2024

Enrique Lihn Carrasco (1929-1988) was a Chilean writer, literary critic, and cartoonist whose work was focused on an analytical and realistic perception of life and art in all its forms. This intellectual had the talent and ability to develop novels, drama, short stories, essays, and poetry.

In Lihn's literary production, aspects of his personality, such as good sense and skepticism, were notorious. Her poetic work was far from sentimentality and extreme lyricism. The writer used clear and precise language, with certain shades of irony and sarcasm. One of his main influences was the Chilean poet Nicanor Parra.

Enrique Lihn. Source: writers.org.

Enrique Lihn's literary repertoire was wide and known throughout Latin America. Some of his most outstanding texts were: Nada se escurre, Poetry in passing, From Manhattan, Rice water and The art of the word. The literary career of this Chilean author was recognized with several awards in his country.

Biography

Birth and family

Enrique Lihn Carrasco was born on September 3, 1929 in Santiago de Chile. The writer came from a cultured family with a good socioeconomic status. His parents were Enrique Lihn Doll and María Carrasco Délano. It is known that since childhood, the future writer was instilled with a love of literature.

Studies

The writer's primary education was spent at Saint George's College and he attended secondary school at the German High School in Santiago. Lihn manifested a taste for reading and a talent for the arts at an early age. He entered the School of Fine Arts of the University of Chile when he was thirteen years old, to receive teaching in plastic arts.

Later, Lihn enrolled at the University of Chile to study painting. Some time later, the young Enrique dropped out of university studies to devote himself fully to writing.

First literary works

Enrique Lihn's talent for writing led him to produce his first work at the age of twenty. In 1949 the author published the collection of poems Nada se escurre, and three years later he ventured into the essay genre with the work Introduction to poetry by Nicanor Parra.

During that time, he participated in the creation of the Quebrantahuesos collage in the company of intellectuals of the stature of Alejandro Jodorowsky, Nicanor Parra, Luis Oyarzún and Jorge Berti. By then, Enrique Lihn's career was emerging brilliantly and strongly among the great authors of the time.

Personal life

Lihn began a love affair with artist Ivette Mingram in the mid-1950s. The couple conceived a daughter in 1957 whom they named Andrea. However, two years later, Lihn and Mingram decided to end the bond.

Literary continuity

Enrique Lihn remained focused on the development of his literary career, which is why he later released his essay Pedro Luna, the painter in 1959. After that, he published one of his most outstanding works called The Dark Piece in 1963.

On the other hand, the intellectual expressed his political thinking by supporting Salvador Allende on his way to the presidency of Chile in 1964. To do this, Lihn joined the ranks of the Popular Action Front as an activist, which led to his winning so much followers of his work as opponents.

Stay in Europe and Cuba

The writer won a grant from Unesco in 1965 to expand his knowledge of museology at some universities in Europe. He spent most of the time in Paris and was in charge of recording his experiences away from his native Chile.

The annotations collected by Lihn were incorporated into the work Poesía de paso in 1966. Later, the poet traveled to Cuba to receive the Casa de las Américas Prize for the aforementioned work. He stayed there for about two years and devoted himself to writing for the Granma newspaper. He also married a Cuban.

Back to chile

Enrique Lihn returned to Chile in the late 1960s. His experience in Cuba was not entirely pleasant and he reflected it in the works Written in Cuba and The music of the poor spheres. Subsequently, the author created the Cormorán publication in 1969 and in the company of Germán Marín.

At that time, Lihn served as director of the poetry workshop taught by the Catholic University of Chile between 1970 and 1973. He also worked as a professor and researcher of literature at the University of Chile.

Trip to the United States and France

Enrique Lihn became a prominent writer in the 1970s and that made him internationally renowned. This is how the government of France invited him to various cultural events.

The poet previously traveled to the United States, specifically New York, to meet some friends and give lectures and recitals at universities.

After spending a month in the Big Apple, he left for Paris. There she attended various literary and artistic meetings. At that time the author conceived the collection of poems Paris, irregular situation.

Other activities

Lihn returned to his country in the late 1970s and quickly made Paris known, irregular status in 1977. A year later he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship and went to New York. There the poems that made up the work From Manhattan were born.

Nicanor Parra, one of Lihn's most important influences. Source: Library of National Congress, via Wikimedia Commons

Already in Chile he developed several theatrical pieces, among them La mekka and Niu York letras marked. The poet published several works at that time, including Pena de estrañamiento in 1986 and Mester as a minstrel in 1987.

Last years and death

The last years of this Chilean writer's life were dedicated to the development and dissemination of his literary work. Some of his most current publications were: The appearance of the Virgin, Anthology of passage, The radio and Eugenio Téllez, discoverer of inventions.

In subsequent years, the poet's existence was affected by a cancer that afflicted him for some time. Despite constant treatments, the writer failed to overcome the disease. Enrique Lihn died on July 10, 1988 in the city where he was born. His remains rest in the Parque del Recuerdo cemetery.

Awards and honours

- First place in the Poetry Games of 1956 with the poems "Monologue of the father with his son of months" and "Monologue of the poet with his death".

- Prize of the magazine Athena in 1957.

- Municipal Prize for Literature of Santiago in 1965 for Agua de arroz.

- Unesco scholarship in 1965.

- Casa de las Américas Prize in 1966 for Poetry in passing.

- Municipal Prize for Literature of Santiago in 1970 for The music of the poor spheres.

- Guggenheim Scholarship in 1978.

Style

Enrique Lihn's literary style was not framed within any movement. The work of this writer was characterized by referring to art itself and by analyzing artistic reality in all its forms of expression. The author used clear, precise, critical and sometimes ironic language.

The poetic work was far from the common precepts of the lyric, that is, it was devoid of sentimentality and defined metrics. The literary production of this Chilean intellectual was influenced mainly by his fellow countryman Nicanor Parra and by Henri Michaux.

Plays

Poetry

- Dialogues of the disappeared (2018).

Novel

- Batman in Chile (1973).

- The crystal orchestra (1976).

- The art of the word (1980).

Posthumous anthologies

- Album of all kinds of poems (1989).

- Because I wrote (1995).

- Figures of speech (1999).

- A strident note (2005).

- A voice similar to the opposite (2009).

- The appearance of the Virgin and other political poems (1963-1987) (2012).

Other works

- Roma, la she-wolf (posthumous edition, 1992).

- Enrique Lihn: interviews (posthumous edition, 2006).

- The letters of Eros (posthumous edition, 2016).

References

1. Enrique Lihn. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
2. Enrique Lihn (1929-1988). (2018). Chile: Chilean Memory. Recovered from: memoriachilena.gob.cl.
3. Donoso, C. (S. f.). Writing for me is a performance: an interview with Enrique Lihn. (N / a): Latin American Literature Today. Recovered from: latinamericanliteraturetoday.org.
4. Tamaro, E. (2019). Enrique Lihn. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
5. Lihn, Enrique. (2011). (N / a): Writers. Recovered from: writers.org.