Elsa Wiezell
Elsa Wiezell was a Paraguayan poet and teacher. Her work also includes paintings that reside in art galleries and cultural centers of Asunción. She was born in Asunción, Paraguay, daughter of Julia Apezteguía and Rubén Wiezell, of Swedish descent.
Childhood and youth
She spent her childhood surrounded by her family, playing games and pranks with her siblings Genoveva and Nills in the once quiet streets of Zeballos Cué. They moved later and definitively to Asunción. She completed her primary studies in Asuncion at the International School.In her youth, her inclination towards poetry was evident, and she began her first literary works at that time. Entranced in her thoughts, she always searched for places of self-discovery. This took her to the college studies at the National University of Asuncion, where she finished her studies with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and literature in 1950.
Career
After graduating, she taught Secondary Level psychology courses at the Benjamin Aceval School in Asunción. She was also in charge of the psychology class at the University of Columbia.Committed to the diffusion of arts and culture within Paraguay, she founded such institutions as the Modern Art Museum, the journal The Feminist, and the Belle Arts School, serving as director from 1965 to 1977.
Publications
Her prolific literary output has positioned her as one of the most active people in the artistic and cultural area of Asunción with more than four decades of unceasing poetic labor.| Year | Work |
| 1950 | Poemas de un mundo en brumas, her first poem book Tronco al cielo |
| 1951 | Barro de estrellas |
| 1956 | Poema ciego |
| 1961 | Por las calles de Cristo |
| 1962 | Órbita de visiones |
| 1964 | El canto y la luz. A book rich in original images, the verses are free. The main subject is the anguish of living in a world that lies and scares. |
| 1965 | Tiempo de amor |
| 1966 | Temblor de acacias. This is a book of love poems wherein the mentioned feeling is the main character. Mensaje para hombres nuevos. Speaks of freedom and yearning to reflect on others, giving the best of oneself. |
| 1967 | Palabras para otro planeta. With a very special characteristic, taking science as a poetic subject. Has a serene and simple style. |
| 1968 | Eco tridimensional. Deals with classic subjects in a new style. The main subjects are the anguish of the men about life, and the death as a transcendental state of men. Puente sobre el río tapecué |
| 1969 | Poema ultrasónico. Of symbolist and impressionist style. |
| 1970 | Sembradores del Sol |
| 1972 | Virazón Considered the best of her poetic work. Poem of epic style full of fierce fights and anguish for her suffering and bleeding people. |
| 1974 | Pobladores fieros La cosecha del viento norte |
| 1975 | El amor de la brisa del sur |
| 1976 | El duende fugitivo |
| 1982 | Antología |
| 1990 | Corceles de alborada |
| 1991 | El colibrí de quebrada |
| 1992 | Poemas del aire profundo Escorzo poético |
| 1994 | La tierra de los maizales Los dos y el mar |
| 1995 | Rumbo al arcoiris |
| 1996 | Memoria de amor efímero |
| 1997 | Canto libertario |
| 2003 | Algas azules Temblor de acacias |
| 2004 | El hombre de la nube |
| 2005 | Barranco Del amor al olvido |
| 2006 | Canto entre las piedras Poética del amor Antología La calesita Lirondela Este es mi pueblo. A compilation of brief literary work for children, with a didactic guide for teachers. |
Awards
Throughout her career, Elsa Wiezell has been internationally acclaimed and rewarded and is considered by many critics and academic scholars to be amongst the most important and influential Spanish-language poets of her time. Many scholars study her work, including Charles Richard Carlisle, Carlos Sabat Ercasty :es:Carlos Sabat Ercasty|Carlos Sabat Ercasty and Norma Suiffet.| Year | Outstanding Activity |
| 1950 | Values of the Americas Award. American Artistic Selection, Montevideo, Uruguay |
| 1956 | Best Spanish-American Lyric Writers, selected along with Juana de Ibarbourou and Alfonsina Storni. Hettan Spranger Natten, Upsala, Sweden. Honorable Mention - Pro Women's Rights League Honorable Mention - Guaraní Writers for her book "Bridge over the Tapecué River" |
| 1966 | Ocara Poty Cue Mi Gallery of Honor |
| 1967 | Federico Garcia Lorca Award |
| 1970 | Greatest Poets of the World. Only representative of Paraguayan poetry up to this day. Honorable Mention - 13th Spring Hall from Athenaeum for her work "Belén". Selected as Latin-American representative of "The New Christian Revolution" Der Bu Bist in Exil, Germany. |
| 1977 | Honorary Citizen of the State of Texas, USA. Merit Honors - Institute for Professor Training. Universidad Iberoamericana |
| 1981 | Honorary Member National Foreign Language Association, Southwest Texas State University Chapter, USA. |
| 1992 | First Prize in Regional Integration Literature Distinguished Cultural Maker. Honor Mural. Universidad Iberoamericana Honorable Mention. "Eternal gratitude for her aid to childhood and youth". Institute for Professor Training. Universidad Iberoamericana. Honorary Merit in Docent Formation. Universidad Iberoamericana. |
Style
In her work can be perceived a placid poetic style. Her loose verses give the sensation of peaceful freedom and smooth movement. Her style is rich in literary language.The inspiration and subjects of her works are almost tangible. Water is a recurrent subject, and she also refers to loneliness and to the dreams that usually clash with a reality manifested, for example, as "painful destiny of the body at the earth...". Carlos Sabat Ercasty has written, "The work of Elsa Wiezell is beautiful and dignified, predetermined by a noble double heroism, marching high and sustaining flight..."