Subero, Efraín (1931–2007)

Efraín Subero (b. 16 October 1931; d. 18 January 2007), Venezuelan scholar, critic, and poet. Professor of literature at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and the Universidad Simón Bolívar, Subero has been a prolific writer and an important scholar in the fields of literary history and criticism, cultural criticism, and folklore. His poetry, most of which was published between 1956 and 1974, reflects his interest in popular expression and his concern for accessibility even when his writing is of private or intimate content. Matarile (1968) is a charming collection of poetry, stories, and one Christmas play for children. La décima popular en Venezuela (1977; 2d ed. 1991) is a major contribution to folklore scholarship, an extensive study and presentation of texts of this ancient traditional Hispanic form. He is also noted for his editions and bibliographical work on such figures as Rómulo Gallegos, Miguel Otero Silva, Arturo Uslar Pietri, Teresa de la Parra, Aquiles Nazoa, Andrés Eloy Blanco, and Manuel Vicente Romero García. He had held faculty positions at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Universidad Católica Andres Bello, also in Venezuela. In 2002, he published Memoria del Puerto. He died in Caracas and the regional government of Nueva Esparta created a scholarship foundation for university students in his honor.

See alsoLiterature: Spanish America .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Collections of notes and essays are Norte franco (1961) and La vida perdurable, 2 vols. (1989). Representative books of poetry are Todavía la noche (1963), En estos parajes (1965), and Razones (1969). Other contributions in folklore and popular culture include Poesía infantil venezolana (1967), Orígen y expansión de la quema de Judas (1974), and La navidad en la literatura venezolana (1977).

Additional Bibliography

Martín, Rebecca. Efraín Subero: Un hombre lejano entre los hombres. Los Teques, Estado Miranda, Venezuela: R. Martín, 2001.

Otera Silva, Miguel, José Ramón Medina, Efraín Subero et al. Casas muertas: Lope de Aguirre, príncipe de la libertad. Caracas: Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1985.

                                Michael J. Doudoroff