Mercedes Negrón Muñoz

Mercedes Negrón Muñoz[note 1] a.k.a. "Clara Lair" (March 8, 1895 – August 26, 1973),[1] was a Puerto Rican poet and essayist who was considered one of the preeminent feminist and postmodernist female Puerto Rican writers of the 20th century.[2]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Negrón and the second or maternal family name is Muñoz.

Mercedes Negrón Muñoz
BornMercedes Negrón Muñoz
March 8, 1895
Barranquitas, Puerto Rico
DiedAugust 26, 1973 (aged 79)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Pen nameHedda Gabler, Clara Lair
OccupationPoet, essayist
NationalityPuerto Rican
Period1916-1950
Notable worksArras de Cristal (1937)

Tropico Amargo (1950)

Mas Allá del Poniente (1950)

Obras Poeticas (1961)
RelativesLuis Muñoz Marín (Cousin)

Early life and education

Negrón Muñoz was born in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico,[3] into a family which included writers, poets and politicians. Her father was the poet Quintín Negrón and her uncles the poet Jose A. Negrón and poet and statesman Luis Muñoz Rivera. She was also the cousin of Puerto Rico's first elected governor Luis Muñoz Marín. Negrón Muñoz received her primary and secondary education in her hometown and she studied literature in the University of Puerto Rico.[4]

Career and major works

In 1937, Negrón Muñoz published the poem "Arras de Cristal" (Cracked Glass) under the name "Clara Lair", her assumed pseudonym.[5][6] Subsequently she published two other collections of poems: Trópico amargo (Bitter Tropics) and Más allá del Poniente (Beyond the Westwind).[2][7]

Legacy

Isabel Cuchí Coll published a book about Negrón Muñoz titled "Dos Poetisas de América: Clara Lair y Julia de Burgos."[8] A docudrama about the life of Negrón Muñoz titled "A Passion Named Clara Lair" was produced and directed by Ivonne Belen in 1996.[9] Puerto Rico has honored her memory by naming a school after her, and in the town of Hormigueros there is a Hogar Clara Lair, a non-profit organization founded in 1991, which protects defenseless women.[10] Also, the street in Old San Juan right in front of her last residence carries her name.

Note
  1. This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Negrón and the second or maternal family name is Muñoz.
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See also

References
  1. "Negrón Muñoz, Mercedes o Clara Lair (1895-1973). » MCNBiografias.com". www.mcnbiografias.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  2. "Lair, Clara - Language and Literature | EnciclopediaPR". Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. "Mercedes Negrón (Clara Lair)". barranquitaspr.net. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. Fernandez, Ronald; Méndez, Serafín Méndez; Cueto, Gail (1998). Puerto Rico Past and Present: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313298226.
  5. Mari, Brenda A. (May 6, 2005). "Beautiful Barranquitas: Town of the Mighty Próceres". puertorico-herald.org.
  6. "Mercedes Negrón Muñoz". prezi.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  7. Yumpu.com. "una-pasion-llamada-clara-lair-fundacion-puertorriquena-de-las-". yumpu.com (in Spanish). Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  8. "Isabel Cuchí Coll > Poemas del Alma". www.poemas-del-alma.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  9. "Barranquitas" (in Spanish). September 17, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  10. "Hogar Clara Lair in Hormigueros, PR". DomesticShelters.org. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
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