CHILEAN MAPUCHE NOBEL POET HUMANIST GABRIELA MISTREL BORN
Mistral was the first female Latin American poet to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1945). Born Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga in Vicuña, Chile, she started working at age 16 as a teacher’s assistant. Throwing herself into her writing and her work in education, she became a published author – including volumes of poetry and articles about education. The poems of Gabriela Mistral included themes of Christian faith, love and sorrow. Her Catholic faith and belief in the afterlife influenced her poetry and outlook on life. As well as being a poet, Gabriela Mistral became an international figure in literature and education. She was on the early cultural committees of the League of Nations and helped shape the educational systems of Mexico and Chile. She also taught Spanish literature in the United States at Columbia University, Middlebury College, Vassar College, and at the University of Puerto Rico. She died from pancreatic cancer on January 10, 1957, in Hempstead, NY.
Source: “Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957),” Biography On-line. Retrieved 6/26/2019, https://www.biographyonline.net/poets/gabriela_mistral.html
Photo: Author and date unknown, though likely pre 1/1/1925. U.S. Public Domain: Either pre 1/1/1925, or lack of notice of renewal. Elsewhere likely public domain where relevant copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or less.