The Labyrinth of Solitude Book by Octavio Paz

The Labyrinth of Solitude Book

Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. Octavio Paz was born near Mexico City. His family was a prominent political family in Mexico, with Spanish and indigenous Mexican roots. His father had been an assistant to Emiliano Zapata. The family experienced financial ruin after the Mexican Revolution and the exile of Zapata supporters (known as Zapatistas). The family briefly relocated to Los Angeles before returning to Mexico. Paz was introduced to literature early in his life through the influence of his grandfather’s library, filled with classic Mexican and European literature. During the 1920s, he discovered Gerardo Diego, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Antonio Machado. These Spanish writers had a great influence on his early writings. As a teenager in 1931, Paz published his first poems, including “Cabellera”. Two years later, at the age of 19, he published Luna Silvestre (“Wild Moon”), a collection of poems. In 1932, with some friends, he funded his first literary review, Barandal.