| My dissertation studies the life and works of the Peruvian essayist Antenor Orrego (1892-1960). It examines key events in Orrego's life as a writer and as a politician. It also analyzes three essential aspects of his work, as reflected in his major books: the beginning of the career of a great poet (Cesar Vallejo), the unification of Latin America and the universal projection of the Latin American race.;Mi encuentro con Cesar Vallejo (1955). In this chapter I explain how Orrego seeks to conceal private episodes in the life of the poet. At the same time, it brings to the fore the key features of Vallejo's poetic art which enabled Orrego to recognize, very early on, Vallejo's singular voice.;Pueblo-continente (1939). This chapter examines Orrego's thought with regard to the values and the destiny of Latin America and its culture. The author presents two principal ideas: (1) the belief that all of the Latin American nations constitute a potential continental state, sharing racial ties, a form of cultural unity and common interests; (2) Latin America represents the emergence, from the original chaos created by the conquest, of a new culture and a new socio-political and economical modality. They are not copies or imitations of European models, but an original American creation. The merging of the races on American soil has generated a mestizo criollo.;Humanismo americano (1966). In this chapter I propose that Humanismo americano is a more in-depth analysis of Pueblo-continente (which studies Latin America's history and its destiny). Central to this analysis is the intrahistoria of Latin America, which is its profound and intimate reality. This reality is at the heart of the continent's culture, accomplishments, and its very way of thinking.;Orrego's work is broad and varied in scope. His significant intellectual output and his contribution to the understanding of Latin American culture make him one of the major Latin American essayists of the twentieth century. |
