Oliverio Girondo

Oliverio Girondo (born Aug. 17, 1891, Buenos Aires, Arg.—died Jan. 24, 1967, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine writer, painter, and poet known for his involvement with Ultraism, a movement in poetry characterized by avant-garde imagery and symbolism as well as metrical complexity.

Born to a well-to-do family, Girondo traveled extensively across Europe and other parts of the world during his youth. He was an active participant in the Argentine vanguardia with his lyric poetry and numerous contributions to magazines such as Proa and Martín Fierro. Outstanding among his poetic works are Veinte poemas para ser leídos en el tranvía (1922; “Twenty Poems to Be Read in a Trolley Car”), Calcomanías (1925; “Decals”), Espantapájaros (1932; “Scarecrow”), Persuasión de los días (1942; “Persuasion of the Days”), Campo nuestro (1946; “Countryside of Ours”), En la masmédula (1956; “In the Masmédula”), and Topatumba (1958). A bilingual edition with a sampling of his poetry is Scarecrow & Other Anomalies (2002), translated by Gilbert Alter-Gilbert.