Federico Díaz-Granados
(Colombia, 1974)
Born in Bogotá, Federico Díaz-Granados published his first book when he was 21 years old and has since been an active player in the literary scene, publishing three more books of his own poetry, three different anthologies of young Colombian poets, a selection of poems about jazz and a translation of the poems of Jim Morrison. He is also a literary critic, teaches literature in a university, takes part in the activities of the Casa de Poesía Silva and is a member of the organising committee of the Bogotá Poetry Festival.
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Federico Díaz-Granado’s poetry maintains a respectful bond with the literary tradition but also subverts this whenever his expressive needs demand it. It is in this creative freedom that we find his important personal register, as is clearly shown in his recent short anthology Álbum de los adioses (Album of Farewells).
Each of his poems in this book stands alone, but there is also a search for unity through a personal selection uninfluenced by critical systems or philosophical schools. The poems chosen by Díaz-Granados are unexpected shortcuts, ciphered prayers, in which he articulates his wonder of being alive. These poems are an exorcism, but also an act of possession and an uncovering of preconceptions through colloquial idiom. In them we find the personal invocations to which we resort when alone with our own fear and trembling, and in some the poet insistently reviews the instant as an atom of time. In these poems there is a personal reflection on identity, that secret river of torrential and tranquil water that flows through who we are, or rather, who we think we are, and Díaz-Granado’s work reminds us of the daily task of piecing ourselves together. In this way, he presents a body of poetry that intimately concerns us, in a world where solitude is a living matter.
The poet Mario Rivero praised Díaz-Granados for his rejection of “artifices and inauthenticity”. “He has nothing to do with rhetorical fancies about a book being an ‘object of desire’,” noted Rivero, “but has much to do with gravity, civility and subtlety.”
Each of his poems in this book stands alone, but there is also a search for unity through a personal selection uninfluenced by critical systems or philosophical schools. The poems chosen by Díaz-Granados are unexpected shortcuts, ciphered prayers, in which he articulates his wonder of being alive. These poems are an exorcism, but also an act of possession and an uncovering of preconceptions through colloquial idiom. In them we find the personal invocations to which we resort when alone with our own fear and trembling, and in some the poet insistently reviews the instant as an atom of time. In these poems there is a personal reflection on identity, that secret river of torrential and tranquil water that flows through who we are, or rather, who we think we are, and Díaz-Granado’s work reminds us of the daily task of piecing ourselves together. In this way, he presents a body of poetry that intimately concerns us, in a world where solitude is a living matter.
The poet Mario Rivero praised Díaz-Granados for his rejection of “artifices and inauthenticity”. “He has nothing to do with rhetorical fancies about a book being an ‘object of desire’,” noted Rivero, “but has much to do with gravity, civility and subtlety.”
Last updated: Dec 28, 2008
© Image: Luis Eduardo Noriega Arboleda
Bibliography
Poetry
Las voces del fuego (Voices of Fire), Proyecto Editorial Famas & Cronopios, Bogotá, 1995
La Casa del viento (The House of the Wind), Revista de poesía Golpe de Dados, Bogotá, 2000
Hospedaje de paso (Lodging House), Colección “Viernes de poesía”, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, 2003
Álbum de los adioses (a selection of his poems), Colección “Libro por centavos”, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, 2006
La última noche del mundo, Revista Golpe de dados, Bogotá, 2007
Anthologies
Oscuro es el canto de la lluvia, Alianza Francesa / Casa de Poesía Silva, Bogotá, 1997
Inventario a contraluz, Arango Editores, Bogotá, 2001
Doce poetas jóvenes de Colombia -1970-1981, Revista Punto de partida, UNAM, México, 2007
La música callada la soledad sonora (an anthology of poems about jazz), Fundación Orlando Sierra Hernández y Festival de jazz de Manizales, Manizales, 2008
Una Oración americana (translations, selection and prologue), Altazor Editores, Bogotá, 1998
Links
Federico Díaz-Granados’s MySpace page (in Spanish)
Poems and biography on the website of the Luis Ángel Arango library (in Spanish)
Poems and biography on the University of Chile, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities website (in Spanish)
Poetry
Las voces del fuego (Voices of Fire), Proyecto Editorial Famas & Cronopios, Bogotá, 1995
La Casa del viento (The House of the Wind), Revista de poesía Golpe de Dados, Bogotá, 2000
Hospedaje de paso (Lodging House), Colección “Viernes de poesía”, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, 2003
Álbum de los adioses (a selection of his poems), Colección “Libro por centavos”, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, 2006
La última noche del mundo, Revista Golpe de dados, Bogotá, 2007
Anthologies
Oscuro es el canto de la lluvia, Alianza Francesa / Casa de Poesía Silva, Bogotá, 1997
Inventario a contraluz, Arango Editores, Bogotá, 2001
Doce poetas jóvenes de Colombia -1970-1981, Revista Punto de partida, UNAM, México, 2007
La música callada la soledad sonora (an anthology of poems about jazz), Fundación Orlando Sierra Hernández y Festival de jazz de Manizales, Manizales, 2008
Una Oración americana (translations, selection and prologue), Altazor Editores, Bogotá, 1998
Links
Federico Díaz-Granados’s MySpace page (in Spanish)
Poems and biography on the website of the Luis Ángel Arango library (in Spanish)
Poems and biography on the University of Chile, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities website (in Spanish)