Campos Cervera, Hérib (1905–1953)

Hérib Campos Cervera (b. 1905; d. 28 August 1953), Paraguayan poet. Widely considered to be Paraguay's finest poet of the post-Chaco War (post-1935) generation, Campos Cervera has left an indelible mark on the literature of his country. Descended from a well-known family of artists and writers, he began his life's work in poetry while teaching engineering at the Colegio Nacional and at the Escuela Normal de Profesores. Initially, his poems appeared only in student newspapers, but he soon gained a literary following in intellectual circles in Asunción.

Campos Cervera's earliest works were heavily influenced by the modernism of Rubén Darío and other turn-of-the-century writers. After a time, however, he became attracted to the vanguardista school and soon became its principal exponent in Paraguay. During the 1930s Campos Cervera was forced into exile because of his political associations. This stay outside of the country was actually helpful in developing his talent: in Buenos Aires, he discovered the writings of Federico García Lorca (who became his personal friend), and he helped found the literary group Vy'araity, which counted among its members his aunt Josefina Plá, the novelist Augusto Roa Bastos, and such figures as Hugo Rodríguez Alcalá and Oscar Ferreiro.

Campos Cervera's finest work can be found in his poetic compilation Ceniza redimida. He also was among the first to popularize poetry in the Guaraní language. He died in Buenos Aires.

See alsoLiterature: Spanish America .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Raúl Amaral, Escritos paraguayos (1984), pp. 217-227.

Carlos Zubizarreta, Cien vidas paraguayas, 2d ed. (1985), pp. 322-325.

                              Marta FernÁndez Whigham