- Biography
- Birth and family
- Studies
- Bohemian life
- Tragic moments
- Literary context
- Literary beginnings
- Strong liberal conviction
- Unrivaled personality
- Hard times
- First post
- A beloved poet
- The Symbolic Grotto of Flórez
- Flórez in exile
- Foray into diplomacy
- Returns to Colombia
- Personal life
- Last years and death
- Conservation of your heritage
- Style
- Plays
- Brief description of some of his works
- Hours
- Thistles and lilies
- Fragment of "The great sadness"
- Lotus basket
- Fragment of "Alms of love"
- Fragment of "Forever"
- Lyrical frond
- Fragment of
- Fragment of "Everything is late"
- Fragment of "Eternal Idyll"
- Fragment of "Abstraction"
- Phrases
- References
Julio Flórez Roa (1867-1923) was a Colombian writer and poet, whose literary work developed within the lines of romanticism. Although the author arrived late to the romantic current (when symbolism and modernism had already made their appearance), that did not detract from the value and recognition of his writings.
Flórez's poetic work was characterized by the use of a cultured and expressive language. In his verses the drama and sensitivity were notorious, as well as a high load of emotion. The writer's favorite themes were heartbreak, loneliness, pain, sadness and the end of human existence.
Julio Flórez Roa. Source: Ospina Vallejo, Joaquín, via Wikimedia Commons
Julio Flórez Roa's literary work began to be published at the end of the 19th century and he became one of the most popular poets of that time. Some of the most prominent titles of this Colombian intellectual were: Hours, Thistles and Lilies, Bunch of Brambles, Lyric Frond and Gotas de absenjo.
Biography
Birth and family
Julio Flórez was born on May 22, 1867 in the town of Chiquinquirá in Boyacá. He came from a cultured family with a good socioeconomic position. His father was the doctor Policarpo María Flórez (who served as president of the Sovereign State of Boyacá) and his mother Dolores Roa. The writer had nine siblings.
Studies
Julio completed his first years of studies at an institution of the Dominican Order in his hometown, under strict religious rules. His training was complemented by reading the great classics, influenced by his father Policarpo Flórez. His talent for poetry emerged in his childhood, at the age of seven he wrote his first verses.
Then he studied high school at the Official College of Vélez between 1879 and 1880 under the rules of his father who was rector of the institution. The family moved to Bogotá in 1881 and Julio began a career in literature at the Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. However, it could not continue them due to the different civil-military conflicts.
Bohemian life
Julio was carried away by his scattered and carefree personality and did not rejoin academic life after the country managed to stabilize. So he dedicated himself to reading and attending the literary meetings that took place in the city of Bogotá. At that time he made friends with the intellectuals José Asunción Silva and Candelario Obeso.
At first, Flórez's bohemian life, his unfinished university training and his lack of knowledge of other languages put him at a disadvantage with other young poets. The young man found it difficult to enter the literary and cultural society of that time, which was demanding and elitist.
Tragic moments
Flórez Roa left his parents' home in 1882 to go live with one of his older brothers named Leonidas, who was a lawyer and writer. A year later, his brother was shot in a political confrontation.
The tragic event happened in the Plaza de Bolívar due to differences between the supporters of the presidential candidates at that time.
Although Julio's brother remained alive, his health was affected physically and psychologically. The young Flórez felt distressed by the situation because he was very close to Leonidas. After that mishap (in 1884) the writer suffered the suicide of a close friend and during the funeral he recited several poems in his honor.
Literary context
Flórez's poetry began at the end of the 19th century during the well-known golden age of Colombian literature. At that time, traditionalist writers such as Miguel Antonio Caro, Rafael Pombo and Jorge Isaacs developed. On the other hand, there were the symbolists and modernists such as José Silva and Baldomero Sanín.
However, Flórez Roa did not join either of those two groups. He chose to belong to the romantic movement without caring that it had already approached its last stage. The poet excelled in his own way, he stood firm to his thoughts, tastes and feelings. Many dubbed him the last romantic.
Literary beginnings
Julio Flórez Roa's literary career officially began in 1886 when some of his verses were published in the anthology La lira nueva by José María Rivas. A year later his brother Leonidas passed away and he went to live alone. By then the young man subsisted on the payment he received as a writer and poet.
Strong liberal conviction
Universidad Nuestra Señora del Rosario, place of studies in Flórez. Source: AndresJaramillo1992, via Wikimedia Commons
The economic situation of the poet in his literary beginnings was not good. Now, his economy could have improved if he had accepted any of the public and political positions that the conservative government offered him. But the deep-rooted liberal thinking he inherited from his father prevented him from joining the conservatives.
Unrivaled personality
Julio Flórez was a man with a particular physique and personality. His appearance was slim, tall, with deep eyes and bushy eyebrows. His fine mustache and medium-long hair stood out. His nose was as graceful as the suits he wore and his verbal ability complemented his external essence.
As for his personality, the poet was a bohemian and carefree, sometimes he seemed to have the face of few friends. His spirit was almost always melancholic and afflicted. He was known among his friends as incredulous and negative about the possibilities of life to be happy.
Hard times
The first years of Flórez Roa's youth were marked by difficult periods of economic difficulties and emotional losses. The poet suffered the imprisonment of his brother Alexander in 1891 and that of his father in 1892. He reflected those episodes in his life in his poetic work.
First post
Flórez persisted in his literary career despite the adverse circumstances he experienced. His first poetic work Hours was published in 1893, which dealt with several romantic poems. The title of the book was chosen by his friend the poet José Asunción Silva.
The writer achieved recognition and respect in the cultural society of the time with Hours. He ceased to be seen as a provincial and as an amateur poet. At the end of the 19th century he was one of the most popular poets, critics and literary groups frequently invited him to recitals and events.
A beloved poet
Flórez's popularity for his poetic performance spanned all social levels. Aspiring writers made trips to Bogotá with the intention of meeting him and attending his declarations. He became the platonic love of many young girls who sighed when they saw him pass.
The writer earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues. Such was the case of Guillermo Valencia who called him "El divino Flórez". The poet knew how to connect with the emotions of the readers and the people in general.
The Symbolic Grotto of Flórez
Flórez Roa created the "Symbolic Grotto" in 1900, it was a literary club that had more than seventy members and originated in response to censorship imposed by governments after civil and political struggles. The writer won the criticism of the church, which considered that the place was a generator of vices.
Flórez's “Symbolic Grotto” functioned until 1903. The end of the meetings was due to the constant political and religious persecution.
Flórez in exile
Although the "Symbolic Grotto" ceased to exist, the persecutions against the poet continued. The elite of the Catholic Church accused him of blasphemy. So to save his life he left Colombia through the Atlantic Coast in 1905 with the help of the military general Rafael Reyes.
The poet arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, and there he joined the cultural and literary life. In the Venezuelan capital he published the work Cardos y lirios in 1905. Later, the writer made a tour of various countries in America between 1906 and 1907 to publicize his poetic work. At that time he produced Basket of Lotuses and Bunch of Brambles in El Salvador.
Foray into diplomacy
Flórez Roa considered returning to his country in mid-1907, but his friend and then President Rafael Reyes appointed him a member of the Colombian diplomacy in Spain. The poet spent two years in Europe and the literary innovations of the time did not influence his literary style.
The Colombian intellectual conceived two of his best-known poetic works in Spain: Fronda Lírica in 1908 and Gotas de absenjo in 1909. Flórez met writers such as Rubén Darío, Amado Nervo, Francisco Villaespesa and Emilia Pardo Bazán in Madrid.
Returns to Colombia
Julio Flórez Roa returned to Colombia in February 1909 after almost four years of absence. Just arrived, he organized a poetry recital in the city of Barranquilla and shortly after he left the public scene. The writer decided to retire to the town of Usiacurí on the Atlantic.
Personal life
The writer found love during his stay in Usiacurí. There he fell madly in love with a fourteen-year-old teenager named Petrona Moreno. Despite the fact that he was forty years older than her, the age difference did not prevent them from marrying.
As a result of the love between Julio and Petrona, five children were born: Cielo, León, Divina, Lira and Hugo. The poet settled permanently in that region of the Atlantic and except on few occasions he traveled to Bogotá to attend cultural and literary events to which he was invited.
Last years and death
The last years of the poet's life were spent in Usiacurí in the company of his wife and children. To support his family, he dedicated himself to livestock and agriculture. Flórez produced some poems including Standing the Dead! in 1917. The writer's health began to deteriorate with a strange disease that deformed his face.
The intellectual contracted a religious marriage with Petrona in November 1922 under pressure from the Catholic Church. The disease continued to advance and limited his speech. Julio Flórez Roa died on February 7, 1923 in Usiacurí because of the strange disease he suffered and that the doctors believed was cancer.
Conservation of your heritage
- The poet's house in Usiacurí became a kind of museum in 1934. That same year his wife Petrona moved to Barranquilla and a niece was left in charge of the property, taking care of the possessions left by the writer.
- In 2001 the house of Julio Flórez Rosa passed into the hands of the COPROUS Foundation for better conservation.
- The Flórez house became a Cultural Heritage of the Atlántico department in 2002.
Julio Flórez House Museum. Source: Mauricio Fabián Zapateiro De la Hoz, via Wikimedia Commons
- The poet's house in Usiacurí became a National Monument in 2007.
Style
Julio Flórez Roa's literary style was framed within the current of romanticism. The poet used a cultured language, well elaborated and precise. His verses were endowed with a strong charge of feelings and emotion.
The different episodes of poverty that he lived through and the death of several of his loved ones influenced the dramatic feature of his poetic work.
The pessimistic and incredulous personality of the writer led him to write about loneliness, heartbreak, pain and hopelessness. Some of his poems were of philosophical content about human existence.
Plays
- Hours (1893).
- Thistles and lilies (1905).
- Basket of lotuses (1906).
- Bunch of brambles (1906).
- Lyrical frond. Poems (1908).
- Drops of absinthe (1909).
- Red arrow (unknown date).
- Stand the dead! (1917).
- Lyric Frond (1922). Second edition.
- Gold and ebony (1943, posthumous edition).
Brief description of some of his works
Hours
It was the first book of poetry that Julio Flórez Roa published in 1893. The poet developed the work following the style of the romantic current and the title was a suggestion made by the writer José Asunción Silva. The verses of the poems were based largely on the homeland.
Although the author included poems related to the end of life and to his mother in the book, it was those he dedicated to his nation that gave him the greatest renown. In it, the sympathizers of liberal ideas found a voice and a clear identification.
Thistles and lilies
It was the second poetic work by this Colombian writer, which was published in the city of Caracas in 1905 after his time in exile. With this book Flórez managed to make himself known in Latin America and his literary value was constantly increasing.
Flórez reflected in this work his skeptical personality and his verses were sadder and more dramatic. Being away from his homeland made him feel more melancholic and that went very well with the romantic style of the book. The main themes were loneliness and hopelessness.
Some of the poems that made up this work were:
- "Gold powder".
- "My grave."
- "The great sadness."
- "Fulminated".
- "In the classroom".
- "Sweet poison".
- "Head".
- "Gray bird".
- "Star of the soul".
- "To my mother".
- "Resurrections".
- "To the Caribbean Sea".
Fragment of "The great sadness"
"An immense gray water, immobile, dead, on a gloomy wasteland
lying;
in stretches of livid algae
cover, not a tree, not a flower, all lifeless, all without soul in the
deserted expanse.
A white dot on the
mute water, on that water of
naked splendor
it is seen to shine in the border
far:
it is an inconsolable heron…
Sad bird, answer:
Some afternoon
in which you ripped the blue
from January
with your happy lover, flaunting
of your whiteness, the hunter
Coward
the sweet wounded to death
partner?…".
Lotus basket
Bust in honor of Julio Flórez. Source: Petruss, via Wikimedia Commons
This work was produced by Flórez Roa in El Salvador in 1906 when he toured the Central American countries to make his poetry known. The collection of poems was not very different from previous publications. The author continued to focus on developing themes based on his feelings of desolation, sadness, and loneliness.
Some of the poems that made up the work were:
- "To half voice".
- "Lark".
- "Lullaby".
- "The slap."
- "In high sea".
- "In the absence".
- "So".
- "Living statue".
- "Harmful flower".
- "Alms of love."
- "Mystic".
- "Natal".
- "Eyes and dark circles".
- "Forever".
- "Challenge".
- "Golden dream".
Fragment of "Alms of love"
"Honey and light, the pilgrim
bard going on
debris
and carries on his shoulders
the instrument
divine, ask for your way.
Of his lyre is so much weight, that you can give that
to ease your day:
light, give it a look, and give him honey in his kiss ”.
Fragment of "Forever"
"As the lightning shines
the dense
darkness of the night
stormy, you lit up the blackness
immense
of this sad soul, with the light
intense
of your candid pupil and
pious.
… Return to me, sweet and good, and you
look, put my eyes at night
cold
and do not push her away anymore… oh my
adored!
so that with its light
eternalized, forever alums the
my darkness ”.
Lyrical frond
This literary work by Flórez Roa was conceived in Spain in 1908, at the time when he developed diplomatic activities. The author's romantic style persisted in this collection of poems, even when he came into contact with the literary innovations of the time during his stay in Europe.
The writer based the content of the work on his feelings of longing for his country and his family. Expressiveness and emotions were seen in personal verses full of depth and reflection.
Fragment of
"You don't know how to love: do you try
warm me with your sad look?
Love is worth nothing without storms, without storms love does not exist.
And yet you say you love me?
No, it is not love that moves you towards me;
love is a sun made of flame,
and the snow never curdles in the sun.
… But do you think that love is cold;
What has to appear in eyes that are always sharp, with your anemic love… come on, my good, go to the ossuary to make the dead fall in love ”.
Fragment of "Everything is late"
“Everything is late for us… even to death!
It is never satisfied or reached
the sweet possession of a hope
when the desire haunts us stronger.
Everything can come: but be warned
that everything is late: the bonanza,
after tragedy: praise
when the inert inspiration is already there.
… And the glory, that nymph of luck, alone in the graves dance.
Everything is late… until death! ”.
Fragment of "Eternal Idyll"
"My last passionate kiss I send you;
my last time to your countenance together
and the deep darkness of emptiness, made corpse, collapses to the point.
Then the sea, from one pole to the other,
by curling its wailing waves,
immense, sad, helpless and alone, she covers the banks with her sobs.
And looking at the luminous traces
of the dawn moon in the dark veil, tremble, with envy and pain, the stars
in the deep solitude of the sky… ”.
Fragment of "Abstraction"
“… Even more: I hear the passing of life
through the deaf cavern of my skull
like a murmur of a dead end stream, like a murmur of an underground river.
Then seized with dread and dead
like a corpse, mute and pensive, In my abstraction to decipher I am not right.
If I am asleep or I am awake, if I am a dead man who dreams that he is alive
or I am alive who dreams that he is dead ”.
Phrases
- "Love is worth nothing without storms, without storms love does not exist."
- "Justice shows us its balance when its centuries in history pours the silent time that advances in the world…".
- "If I am asleep or awake, if I am dead that dreams that he is alive or if I am alive I am that dreams that he is dead."
- “Everything is silent… the sea sleeps, and does not disturb with its wild cries of reproach; and dreams that she kisses with the moon in the black thalamus of the night ”.
- "Love is a volcano, it is lightning, it is fire, and it must be devouring, intense, it must be a hurricane, it must be a summit… It must rise up to God like incense!"
- "Indefinable eyes, big eyes, like the sky and the sea deep and pure, eyes like the jungles of the Andes: mysterious, fantastic and dark."
- "Sometimes melancholy I sink into my night of rubble and misery, and I fall into a silence so deep that I listen to the beating of my arteries."
- “Everything is late… Until death! The sweet possession of hope is never satisfied or attained when desire beset us strongest.
- "Look at me with love, eternally, eyes of melancholic pupils, eyes that resemble under his forehead, deep and calm water wells".
- “Save, then, this sad, weak bunch that I offer you of those dark flowers; Save it; fear nothing… ”.
References
- Serpa, G. (S. f.). Julio Flórez. (N / a): Aurora Borealis. Recovered from: auroraboreal.net.
- Tamaro, E. (2019). Julio Flórez. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
- Julio Flórez. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
- Five poems by Julio Flórez to dedicate. (2018). Colombia: Diners Magazine. Recovered from: revistadiners.com.co.
- Julio Flórez. (2017). Colombia: Banrepcultural. Recovered from: encyclopedia.banrepcultural.org.