“Javier Sologuren is a reminder that it is often the quiet ones who make themselves heard the longest and most intensely in an alarming and publicity-seeking world.”
This is what author Kjell A. Johansson wrote in an obituary about his friend and former teacher, Javier Sologuren, on 12 July 2004 in Sydsvenskan.
Javier Sologuren (1921-2004) was one of Peru’s foremost poets and also worked as a translator of Swedish poetry. During the years 1951 to 1957, he was a lecturer at Lund University. Once a week, he taught Spanish for beginners and literature classes at the Centre for Languages and Literature.
Although the lectures had few listeners, they were “extremely interesting and stimulating,” said Kjell Johansson in the obituary.
Sologuren was not only a poet, senior lecturer and translator but also a successful essayist, anthology writer and publisher. He fell in love with poetry at a young age during his time in primary school, and in 1968 he received his doctorate in Hispanic literature from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. He was one of the foremost members of Génération de 50 – a Spanish literary movement with writers who wrote in a new lyrical style as a way to avoid censorship.
His poems are collected in the book Vida continua (Continuous Life), which he re-edited multiple times during his life. He has also published several anthologies as well as cultural and literary journals. His poems have been published in various Peruvian and international anthologies, and many of his works have been translated into fifteen languages.
On 28 September, Lund University celebrates this world-famous poet’s 100th anniversary in connection with the Peruvian embassy’s visit to Lund University.
Diego Valverde, also a poet and son of Javier Sologuren, will give a 30-minute lecture followed by time for questions and reflections. Thirty students are invited to participate on site and all other guests are welcome to watch the event via a live stream on YouTube.
28 September at 15:00-16:00 (CEST)