Silva, Clara (1907–1976)

Clara Silva (b. 1907; d. 1976), Uruguayan poet, novelist, and critic. Silva was born in Montevideo and began writing poetry early on. Her first book, La cabellera oscura (The Dark Mane, 1945), showed a mature writer. It was followed by Memoria de la nada (1948). A second phase in her work began with Los delirios (1954), a collection of sonnets on human and divine love. Las bodas (The Wedding, 1960) is a collection of poems that deal with religion, a preoccupation that continued in Preludio indiano y otros poemas (1960) and more pointedly in Guitarra en sombra (1964). Juicio final (1971) is her last book of poems. Her fiction included El alma y los perros (The Soul and the Dogs, 1962), Aviso a la población (Warning to the Population, 1964), Habitación testigo (A Room as Witness, 1967), Prohibido pasar (1969), a collection of short stories, and Las furias del sueño (The Furies of Dreaming, 1975).

An active participant in the cultural and literary life of Montevideo, she was married to Alberto Zum Felde, a prominent critic and writer. She wrote two books on the life and work of the modernist Uruguayan poet Delmira Agustini and elaborated an idealist vision of America through three universal themes: nature, love, and death. In 1976 she received the Grand National Prize of Literature of Uruguay. Silva died in Montevideo.

See alsoMontevideo; Zum Felde, Alberto.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape: A Descriptive Guide, compiled by Francisco Aguilera and edited by Georgette Magassy Dorn (1974).

Sarah Bollo, Literatura uruguaya, 1807–1975 (1976); and Diccionario de literatura uruguaya (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Pickenhayn, Jorge Oscar. Voces Femeninas en La Poesia de Uruguay. Buenos Aires: Editorial Plus Ultra, 1999.

                              Magdalena GarcÍa Pinto