Xavier Villaurrutia y González (27 March 1903 – 25 December 1950) was aMexicanpoet,playwright, translator, and literary critic whose most famous works are the short theatrical dramas calledAutos profanos, compiled in the workPoesía y teatro completos, published in 1953.
Xavier Villaurrutia was born in Mexico City in 1903. He studied in the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (National Preparatory School) and in the Escuela de Jurisprudencia (Jurisprudence School). During that time, he felt a certain affinity to writing so he decided to dedicate his life to writing literature.
In 1928, he joined thegrupo de los Contemporáneos (Contemporaries). In 1935, he received a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation to study theatre atYale University.[1] Returning to Mexico in 1937, he started working for the local newspaper,Letras de Mexico. Villaurrutia would later found the firstexperimental theater in Mexico.
Along withSalvador Novo, they founded the magazineUlises in 1927, in which he published the novelDama de corazones (Lady of hearts) in 1928.[2]
Villaurrutia's notable works include his poetic writings, beginning withReflejos in 1926 andNocturnos in 1933. Villaurrutia's writing becomes darker in his later poetic works:Nostalgia de la muerte (literally meaning "Nostalgia of death") in 1938, andDécima muerte (literally "tenth death") in 1941. It is unclear if this change was due to the increased turmoil in Europe that would lead toWorld War II or simply due to Villaurrutia's increasing age. The preoccupation with death in Villaurrutia's work climaxed with his 1941 play,Invitación à la muerte, the title of which can be literally translated to "Invitation to the death" (see "References" below regarding Dr. Raymond Marion Watkins's book which chronicles a history and analysis of this play, which Watkins demonstrates was heavily influenced by Villaurrutia's integration of dramatic elements traceable to William Shakespeare's "Hamlet.") The final published work of Villaurrutia came posthumously in 1953 with the publication ofPoesía y teatro completos, a collection of his works which included the short theatrical dramas,Autos profanos. The American writerEliot Weinberger translatedNostalgia de la muerte to English.[3]
Xavier Villaurrutia was greatly influenced by the work ofRamón López Velarde as well as by several other Mexican poets.
He has been a major influence for many poets, includingOctavio Paz (who was his student) andAlí Chumacero.
Since 1955, there has been aXavier Villaurrutia Award for literary works published in Mexico, selected by a jury of writers. This award has been sponsored by theConsejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes since 1991.[4]
