Emir Rodríguez Monegal


Emir Rodríguez Monegal, born in Uruguay, was a scholar, literary critic, and editor of Latin American literature. From 1969 to 1985, Rodríguez Monegal was professor of Latin American contemporary literature at Yale University. He is usually called by his second surname Emir R. Monegal or Monegal.
Described as "one of the most influential Latin American literary critics of the 20th century" by the Encyclopædia Britannica, Monegal wrote key books about Pablo Neruda and Jorge Luis Borges, and the Britannica Macropædia notice of the later. He was a part in "The Boom" of 1960s Latin American literature as founder and 1966–1968 editor of his influential magazine Mundo Nuevo. Umberto Eco was quoted in saying that Jorge Luis Borges had read almost everything but no one knew that indiscernable totallity better than Emir.
He is remembered as a member of the Generation of 45, a Uruguayan intellectual and literary movement: Carlos Maggi, Manuel Flores Mora, Ángel Rama, Idea Vilariño, Carlos Real de Azúa, Carlos Martínez Moreno, Mario Arregui, Mauricio Muller, José Pedro Díaz, Amanda Berenguer, Tola Invernizzi, Mario Benedetti, Ida Vitale, Líber Falco, Juan Cunha, Juan Carlos Onetti, among others.

Biography

Early career (1921–1965)

In 1921, Emir Rodríguez Monegal was born on 28 July in Melo, Cerro Largo, Uruguay. He had the double-barrelled name Rodríguez Monegal but was often referred to as R. Monegal or Monegal only, a Spanish naming custom when the first surname is extremely common.
From 1945 to 1957, he edited the literary section of the Montevideo weekly . He was one of the first to recognize early on the importance of Borges, seeing him and his family frequently after 1945, and taking him for model to the point of pastiche. Conversely, he got a cameo in a pseudo-autobiographical Borges short story:
In 1949, he won a scholarship from the British Council for a year's study at the University of Cambridge; he went to study under F. R. Leavis and complete a project on Andrés Bello. During 1949 to 1955, he was also editor of Número, a Montevideo literary magazine. In 1952, he became friend with Pablo Neruda, who would later lend him his intimate papers for Monegal's biography of Neruda.
In 1956, Monegal obtained the equivalent of a PhD at the Facultad de Humanidades, Montevideo, for his research on "Andrés Bello y el Romanticismo hispanoamericano".

''Mundo Nuevo'' (1966–1968)

In 1966, Monegal founded the influential literary monthly Mundo Nuevo as a project sponsored by the Ford Foundation. Published in Spanish in Paris, it was distributed worldwide. Monegal directed it with full editorial control until July 1968, after a political smear campaign alleging a CIA funding eventually led to his resignation. contributed to the 1960s publishing phenomenon dubbed "The Boom" in Latin American literature that led to many Latin American writers being published outside of their home countries and gaining critical recognition.

Yale University (1969–1985)

In 1969, Monegal was appointed professor of Latin American contemporary literature at Yale University. From 1970 to 1973, he was chairman of the Latin American Studies program and associate chairman of the Department of Romance Languages. From 1973 to 1976, he was chairman of the Spanish and Portuguese Department.
From 1969 to 1977, he was a member of the editorial board of Revista Iberoamericana and from 1972 to 1977 he was consulting editor of Review, a tri-quarterly published by the Center for Inter-American Relations in New York.
Also, from 1975 to 1982, he was a visiting lecturer in seven universities in Brazil, and a visiting professor at the University of Southern California and the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1985, Monegal died on Thursday 14 November at Yale's infirmary in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was survived by his wife: Selma Calasans Rodrigues de Rodríguez; and three children: Georgina Rodríguez Nebot, Joaquín Rodríguez Nebot, and Alejandro Rodríguez Gerona.

Legacy

Selected among more than 330 articles and notices: