Julia de Burgos

Who is Julia de Burgos?

Julia de Burgos was a Puerto Rican poet widely regarded as one of the most important Latin American poets of the twentieth century. Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to a poor rural family, she trained as a teacher before dedicating herself to writing and political activism. Her poetry, collected in volumes such as Poema en Veinte Surcos (1938) and Canción de la Verdad Sencilla (1939), explored themes of feminism, Puerto Rican national identity, social justice, and personal longing, often drawing on the imagery of the island's Río Grande de Loíza, near her childhood home. She was an outspoken advocate for Puerto Rican independence and women's rights, and for a time served as secretary general of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. In the 1940s she moved to New York City, where she continued writing and worked as a journalist for Spanish-language publications while struggling with poverty and illness. She died in New York in 1953; her body went unidentified for several days before being returned to Puerto Rico for burial. Her work remains a cornerstone of Puerto Rican literature.

Sources: Julia de Burgos, Poema en Veinte Surcos (1938) · Julia de Burgos, Canción de la Verdad Sencilla (1939) · Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, biography of Julia de Burgos