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Early works (1937-1954)
Nicanor Parra's poetry career began with his first book Cancionero sin nombre, which was published in 1937. The book displayed Parra's colloquial voice, slight reverence for classical forms of poetry, and humorous tone. The book was later denounced by Parra, as it was a stark contrast to what would become his image of the "antipoet". Parra's second book Poemas y antipoemas (1954) delved deeper into the liberation of strict forms of poetry. Some critics note that with the publication of Poemas y antipoemas, Parra's voice became more pronounced through his use of dark humor, irony, and grotesque language. Most of all, Parra's self-allusions conquered as the crown jewel of his anti-poetic innovations. Parra and other "anti-poets" would break conventional rules of poetry that rejected the narrator's recognition of him or herself within the poem. This became the hallmark of the anti-poetry movement, as conversational poetry became more mainstream. While some believe that Parra is better classified as a non-poet, Parra's achievements have withstood the test of time; he is recognized as one of the most influential figures in Latin American literature. In the early years of Parra's work, Parra notes Pablo Neruda as one of his greatest influences. Parra notes Neruda as the inspiration behind his natural style, saying that Neruda compelled him "to be a buffoon".

Later works (1954-Present)
Parra continued to experiment with the anti-poetic voice as he expanded his career into different forms of poetry, including collections of diverse poems. Some of the most notable of these collections include La cueca larga (1958), Versos de salon (1962), Obra gruesa (1969), Artefactos (1972), Sermones y predicas del Cristo de Elqui (1977), and Hojas de Parra (1985). All of these collections demonstrate Parra's gradual movement toward poetry that utilizes colloquial, easy to understand language, tones of dissatisfaction, and stripped down forms of poetry that reveal the most simplistic of emotional impacts for the reader.

Individual Style and Legacy
In Parra's later works, the antipoetic voice flourished. Among other traits included in the voice of the antipoet is the skepticism of the antipoetic character. The antipoetic character plays an important role in examining and critiquing the world around him or her. The skepticism of these characters brings about the conversational tone and examination of the narrator's environment, thus opening itself up to more self-allusion by the poet. The other important aspect of the antipoetic voice is the dramatic monologue. Marlene Gottlieb, a specialist in contemporary Latin American poetry, discusses the use of the dramatic monologue as a way in which to reflect all social classes in poetry, what is known as conversational poetry. This aspect of Parra's poetry is central to his unique identity within the Latin American literature community. By creating a character within the piece itself, Parra opened up poetry to be a series of living, breathing scenes filled with life-like characters that unfold line by line.

Early Life
Nicanor Parra was born September 5, 1914, in San Fabián de Alico, Chile, near Chillán in southern Chile. He was one of nine children in his family. He comes from the artistically prolific Parra family of performers, musicians, artists, and writers. His father, Nicanor Parra, was a teacher and musician. His mother, Clara Sandoval Navarette, descended from middle-class farmers where her family became associated with folk music. His sister, Violeta Parra, was a folk singer, as was his brother Roberto Parra Sandoval. He moved frequently as a child, bouncing around Chillán, and living briefly in Santiago, Lautaro, and Ancud.

Education
In 1932, he attended Internado Baros Arana in Santiago, Chile, for his final year of high school. There he met and forged friendships with Jorge Millas, Luis Oyarzún, and Carlos Pedraza. In 1933, he entered the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile, majoring in mathematics and physics with the hopes of becoming a teacher. He and his friends started a literary titled Revista Nueva in 1935. He contributed his own short story to the first issue titled "El Gato en el camino." In 1937 he published his first collection of poems called Concionero sin nombre in the same magazine. The following year he graduated from the university and went on to teach in Chilean secondary schools. From 1943 to 1945, he enrolled in Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, to study physics. In 1949, he attended Oxford University to study cosmology. There he was influenced by poets such as Walt Whitman, who inspired a series of poems titled Ejercicios, retóricos.

Career
Since 1952, Parra has been professor of theoretical physics in Santiago. He has also been a visiting professor for Spanish American Literature at Louisiana State University, New York University, Columbia University, and Yale University. He is a member of Academia Chilena de Lengua and conducts a workshop at the University of Chile. He has read his poetry in England, France, Russia, Mexico, Cuba, and the United States, and he has published dozens of books.

He has been married twice, to Ana Troncoso and Inga Palmen. He has seven children and lives in La Reina, a suburb of Santiago. Parra turned 100 in September 2014.

Parra chooses to leave behind the conventions of poetry; his poetic language renounces the refinement of most Latin American literature and adopts a more colloquial tone. He uses irony, humor, and everyday themes and language to connect to a wide audience with his poetry. .

Critical Acclaim/ Awards (Trystan)
At 97 years old, Parra won the Cervantes Award of 2011, making him the oldest recipient of the highest honor in the Spanish-speaking world of literature. The honor came with a monetary award of $125,000. Also in 2012, Parra won the Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry Prize by the National Council of Culture and the Arts of Chile. This award is given to authors who work to include exceptional cultural topics. Along with this award, a monetary goal of $60,000 is included.

Influence (Christopher)
Parra’s influence is widely stated and recognized as fundamental to the develop of subsequent trends in literature. His first collection, Poemas y Antipoemas (1954) is a classic of Latin American literature, one of the most influential Spanish poetry collections of the twentieth century. It is cited as an inspiration by American Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg. Beyond simply developing the principles of the anti-poem, Parra was a vocal proponent of its purpose to evoke emotion and inspire change. Later in his career Parra turned gradually away from using anti-poems, recognizing that much of their utility had come from their novelty. Despite this, Parra’s work both with anti-poetry and without continues to have a tremendous impact on global literature, with numerous authors citing his work as inspirational; past and present.