Biography of Abraham Valdelomar | Peruvian writer.

Peruvian writer. He was born in the city of Ica on April 27, 1888 and died in Ayacucho on November 3, 1919. Abraham Valdelomar was son of Anfiloquio Valdelomar Fajardo and Carolina Pinto. Manuel A. Bedoya followed his primary studies in the city of Pisco and the Municipal school No. 3 of Chincha, and secondary in the Colegio Nacional de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Lima (1900-04), where he founded the magazine La Guadalupana Idea (1903) beside his partner.

In 1905 Valdelomar enrolled in the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, but left the following year classes to be used as an Illustrator in the magazines applause and whistles, monkeys and Monads, News, Cinema and Gil Blas, where he also worked as artistic director.

In 1909 he published his first poems in the magazine contemporary modernist style and the next year decided to resume his studies, although the University never interested him much, and in 1913 ended up abandoning it definitely.

In 1910, following a conflict with Ecuador, Abraham Valdelomar sat square of soldier as a member of the "University battalion", formed by students from San Marcos, and during the cantonment wrote a series of Chronicles under the heading "with the Algerian in the wind" which were published in the newspaper and the National Opinion of Lima between April and June, 1910 , and which earned him a prize from the municipality of Lima; He later traveled with a University delegation to the South of the country, visiting Arequipa, Cuzco and Puno.

The same year of 1910 appeared published the first stories of Valdelomar varieties and Illustration Peruvianmagazines, and the following year appeared serials in the same magazines his short novels the consumptive city and dead city - where he made manifest the influence received from the Italian writer Gabriele D´Annunzio-, also started his collaboration with the newspaper La Prensa of the Peruvian capital. In 1912 he participated in the presidential campaign of Guillermo Billinghurst, being elected President of the University billinghurista Center, and, after the victory of their candidate, came to be named Administrator of the State printing press and editor of the official newspaper El Peruano (X-1912 V-1913).

Valdelomar resigned from both posts then appointed Second Secretary of the Legation of the Peru in Italy (12-V-1913), embarking to Europe on May 30. After passing through Panama, Cuba and New York, reached Rome (7-VIII-1913), assuming their functions immediately. Your stay in this city took it to write a series of articles published in the Lima daily La Nación (XI-1913 to I-1914) and the National Opinion (V-VII-1914 to 1914) under the name of "Chronicles of Rome", but definitely most importantly staying in Italy was their participation in the literary contest organized by the nation with the story "El Caballero Carmelo" which won the first prize (3-I-1914). After learning of the overthrow of President Billinghurst, he resigned from his diplomatic post (6-II-1914) and returned to Lima.

Again in the Peruvian capital, and after a brief arrest for plotting against the new Administration (VI-1914), Valdelomar began working as a personal Secretary of the Peruvian polygraph José de la Riva-Agüero (1914-15). Under the influence of Riva-Aguero, he wrote his first book titled La Mariscala (Lima, 1914), fictionalized biography of Francisca Zubiaga (1803-35), wife of President Agustín Gamarra and important figure in Peruvian politics for some years. Then Valdelomar was already a frequent contributor to numerous publications Lima as newspapers El Comercio and La crónica, and Spamagazines, World Lima and varieties, which published his poems, stories and articles.

However, his work as a journalist was linked to the newspaper La Prensa, where he carried out "Words" section from July 1915 until his departure from the newspaper in 1918. He also published in La Prensa, its "fragile Chronicles", where he made known his pseudonym from The Earl of Lemos; and the maximum "dialogues", by way of conversations between two characters, Manlio and Aristippus, through which we discover the personalities of Valdelomar and writer José Carlos Mariátegui.

Abraham Valdelomar also published in the same journal his Chronicles titled "Impressions"; the "Will-o'-the-WISPs" column, where deployed all its humor and irony; and finally comments on the World War II, appeared in 1917 under the heading of "To the margin of the cable". In 1917 he won the competition organized by the circle of journalists in Peru with his "Essay on the psychology of the gallinazo" article.

Valdelomar, who, on his return from Europe, had become the leader of a group of young writers, decided to found his own literary magazine, where could expose works which were consistent with the literary tastes of the new generation represented. Thus, on January 15, 1916 appeared the first number of Columbus, magazine directed by Valdelomar that despite its short duration - published only four numbers, last may 1916 – had a great repercussion in the Peruvian cultural environment, to the point where began to speak of a "Colónida movement".

However, the importance of this magazine may not be magnified. It has been argued that the magazine was intended to be an aesthetic revolution flag and an attempt to publicize the new provincial writers, but there is no doubt that the results were not always the desirable. Despite everything, we should recognize the merit of rescuing from oblivion the figure of José María Eguren (1874-42), the first Peruvian writer who deserves the title of poet with justice.

The same year is published The multiple voices (Lima, 1916), which brought together eight writers linked to Columbus, including Valdelomar poems. The book includes the poems "the brother away at Easter dinner..." and "Tristitia", considered the best of his poetic production, describing the family atmosphere and the sense of absence and solitude that surrounds the poet.

Later published that would be his last books: Belmonte, the tragic, test an aesthetic future through new art (Lima 1918), on the aesthetic philosophy of bullfighters Juan Belmonte - track on which confesses to not be versed-, and its successful first volume of short stories titled El Caballero Carmelo (Lima, 1918).

In January 1918 he resigned from his position as editor at La Prensa and began a brief collaboration with South America Magazine. It is then when the writer decides to visit the Peruvian territory as a lecturer, for which undertook a journey to the North of the country (V-1918 to XII-1918) by visiting the cities of Trujillo, Cajamarca, Chiclayo and Piura, as well as several towns in which gave lectures on aesthetic, patriotic and social issues. Meanwhile, both had applied to the regional Council of Ica, and to be elected to the position (24-VIII-1919), traveled to the city of Ayacucho, headquarters of the Regional Congress of the Centre.

On November 1, 1919 Abraham Valdelomar suffered an accident while participating at the second preparatory session of the Congress, as a result of which died within two days, being transferred his remains to Lima, after being embalmed. Posthumously published the children of the Sun (Inca stories, Lima, 1921), set of accounts written around the year 1910, and heroic triptych (Lima, 1921), book of patriotic poems dedicated to the children of the schools of the Peru. His literary work, formed by the few books published and her works which are scattered in numerous periodicals, has been subject to different collections, the last - and also the most comprehensive - with the title of works (2 vols., Lima 1988).

Abraham Valdelomar is an exceptional case within the Peruvian literature. Praised and attacked in life as no other writer of his country, was determined to succeed in their environment to which did not hesitate in challenging and outrageous in the manner of Oscar Wilde, who surely wanted to imitate postures. However, behind the author used to show in public and their attachment to the brilliant and ironic phrases, will discover a true temperament artistic, full of sentiment and nostalgia, which manifests itself in his best poems and Creole tales that form his book El Caballero Carmelo. It contains some of the best stories written in the Peru.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas